Lost and Bound
by Ms. Comfrey
Summary: Two elves are saved by the border patrol. Who are they?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.

Outskirts of Rivendell:

He had hair that was once blonde but was now brown from dirty and crusted with dried blood. He was tall with grey eyes. He was wearing nothing more than rags that didn't cover his body and his hands were bound in front of him so that he could run behind the horse he was tied to.

Beside him, was another, his hair in a similar state and his eyes leaf green. He was tied to the other horse in a similar fashion but, unlike him, his rider did not waste time yanking on the lead rope.

Apart from them, there were two others. A well dressed man, obviously a nobleman and another rider, maybe a soldier. They were both tall and sturdily built, one with red hair and the other with brown.

He managed to regain his feet one more time only to fall again as the rider gave a sharp, well timed tug on the lead rope. This time, he did not rise.

"Sire, we'll need to stop for the day. It can't go any farther," called the rider.

"Very well, but it will receive punishment later. It should have been able to go at least two more hours," the man replied.

"With pleasure," the other replied. He lifted the riding crop, but the man stopped him. "Wait until it's conscious," he said.

Over an hour later, he began to stir.

"Slave!" the nobleman called. "Draw some water and prepare our dinner."

Aethelred did just that and, although his stomach was growling, he did not get so much as a mouthful of water.

Later that night, both were bound to a tree, he was once again unconscious.

Aethelred was not. "Stay strong, Legolas. Eärendel is bright tonight."

The next day, they were forced to make breakfast and watch the two men eat it. Then they were tied up and he started the day being dragged.

"Halt!" came a voice suddenly. It's melodic tones cutting through the haze in his mind. The voice continued to speak, but he only heard snippets. He swayed, knowing that if he didn't remain standing, that he'd be worse off tomorrow.

"...Rivendell?" the voice asked.

"Merely… through," Master, his master replied.

"Then... mind... inspection," the voice replied.

"Nay," Master laughed. "Do...please?"

He heard the person shuffling around for a few moments before someone appeared in front of them. He frowned. The man had blonde hair and the clearest blue eyes he'd ever seen and… was that ear pointy? The only pointy ear he knew of was Aethelred's and his own.

Suddenly, he was yanked to the ground by Aethelred and, remembering his manners, he knelt, his forehead touching the ground in submission, praying to any of the many gods he'd heard of that it wasn't too late. Strange how it never seemed to help.

As his hair shifted forward, he heard the man gasp. Then he felt hands grasping his forearms firmly and he only just managed to keep from flinching. Carefully, the hands helped him rise. Aethelred was standing already standing.

The stranger was speaking again, "...them...over…me."

He jumped when his master suddenly shouted, "No! They're mine!"

The stranger said something in a language that was beautiful, but foreign. As one, the men in the trees came and surrounded his master, weapons held high.

His master looked furious and as he came, he stepped back, despite all his training not to. His master cuffed him around the head, drawing a surprised cry from him and glares from the surrounding pointy eared people. Ignoring the glares, his master untied him and Aethelred. Then he got back on his horse and they both rode away without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.

Outskirts of Rivendell:

Glorfindel was patrolling the borders as he often did, though it was so peaceful these days there really was no point.

When he first saw the men, he thought it was just a few men who had gotten lost or had been attacked. The red haired one was obviously a nobleman and the brown haired one was probably a guard. Both were obviously leading something behind him, pack horses, perhaps.

"Halt!" he cried.

Both men stopped and, after getting permission, he began inspecting the bags and animals. After a few moments, he came across what they had been leading. Slaves. He gritted his teeth. He hated slavery. If they'd seen how many elven slaves Morgoth had had, these men would have hated slavery too. Or they would have been vying to join him.

One slave, the green eyed one, kneeled immediately. The blue eyed slave stared at him for a few minutes before the other pulled him down and he quickly kneeled with his head touching the ground. As he did so, his hair shifted and he saw the tip of an ear. He was an elf! Both were, he now saw. He bent down quickly and helped the elves up. Glorfindel was certain that the elves in the trees could have seen them shaking.

"Turn them over to me." said Glorfindel, wanting nothing more than to tear the man apart.

"No! They're mine!" the nobleman shouted.

Addressing the elves in the trees, he ordered the elves to be taken, by force if necessary. When the elves surrounded the man, they quickly untied the elves and left, leaving the elves staring at him in confusion, surprise, and no small amount of fear.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.

Outskirts of Rivendell:

He looked at the man his master left them with, slightly confused but afraid to ask. Had he been sold? He hadn't seen any money change hands. Maybe they had already done so.

The pointy eared man just stared back. Finally, he asked something in that strange language. Legolas just stared at him. Aethelred probably knew what he was saying, but if he did, he made no signs of understanding it.

The man asked again and after receiving the same reaction asked a language Legolas understood, "What is your name?"

He looked at him suspiciously and said, "I don't have one, master."

That was true enough. He didn't have a name, but Aethelred did call him Legolas. It meant Greenleaf, apparently. Aethelred had told him that green was the color of hope and leaves a sign of life. He rather liked the name, but he didn't want his masters knowing or sullying with memories of beatings or other punishments. Not that they would have used it outside of the bed.

The pointy eared man blinked in surprise, "Everyone has a name and please don't call me master."

He was surprised. Had the man just asked him to do something? "Forgive me, my lord. I do not have a name, I am just a slave, my lord."

The pointy eared man said, "Then we shall have to give you one. I am Glorfindel, you may call me Glorfindel or Lord Glorfindel, I care not."

He nodded, bowing, "It will be an honor to serve you, my lord."

Glorfindel blinked again. "You are not going to serve me, I merely freed you. I am going to take you back to Rivendell to heal and then you can do as you wish."

He watched Glorfindel mistrustfully. One of his previous masters had said something like that. He had by far been the worst of them.

It would be safest to agree, he decided. The golden rule of the slaves was, If in doubt, agree. Kneeling, once again, he said, "As you wish, my lord."

Once again, Glorfindel helped him rise before turning to Aethelred and asking, "Do you have a name?"

"Yes, my lord." replied Aethelred.

Glorfindel waited, but when it was clear he wasn't going to answer, he prompted, "And?"

Both flinched. "It's Aethelred." answered Aethelred quickly. This was sure to get them a beating and they'd only met a minute ago. Hoping to soothe some of his anger, they both kneeled again.

Glorfindel helped him rise a third time before saying, "You will ride with me and Aethelred can ride with Faelis. Rivendell is less than an hour from here."

Following Glorfindel to the horse, he watched a Glorfindel mounted and resigned himself to another long run. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aethelred doing the same. He flinched as he was lifted into the saddle, trembling slightly as he remembered the last time he'd been pressed against a man's chest.

Glorfindel frowned. "Are you cold?"

He shook his head. "Nay, my lord, I am fine."

Glorfindel didn't reply and fell silent, but it wasn't a comfortable silence. It was tense and heavy and he did not like it one bit. It did not seem to promise good things, rather it seemed ominous and made the fact that he knew nothing of these pointy eared folk nor of their intentions.

When Rivendell came into view, he could not help but gasp, none of his masters had ever lived somewhere like this. He was almost willing to be a slave if it meant he could live here.

"Have you never been seen an elven realm before?" asked Glorfindel.

"Nay, truly, I have never heard of elves, my lord," he replied.

"But you are an elf!" exclaimed Glorfindel, making the other flinch. "I apologize, I was merely surprised. Did you never wonder why you had pointy ears?"

"Yes, my lord, but the only one who knew was Aethelred and he said he would be punished if he told me."

Glorfindel frowned. "You may ask any question here. They may not be answered as fully as you may wish, but you will not be punished. Now, however, we must go see Lord Elrond."

"Is he to be my new master?" he asked.

"Nay, you are free. You may work as a servant if that is your wish, though," replied Glorfindel.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.

Rivendell:

Knocking on the door of the study, Glorfindel walked in, the others trailing behind.

"Glorfindel," greeted Elrond. "Are you well?"

"As well as ever," said Glorfindel. "The patrol went well, but I did relieve a few men of their elven slaves." As he spoke, he guided the other elves slightly in front of him, ignoring the obvious trembling.

Elrond looked at them in surprise before greeting them in elvish.

They stared at him before quickly dropping to their knees and touching their heads to the floor.

Glorfindel said something to Elrond and he nodded.

"Welcome to Imladris, I am Lord Elrond," this time, Elrond said it in common.

Neither rose, but both replied, "Thank you, Master."

Elrond looked at them in surprise, but merely walked to the door and said something in that beautiful language before helping the elves up, just as Glorfindel had.

"What is your name? Can you read?" Glorfindel looked surprised, but Elrond, taking advantage of the elves' downcast gaze, shot him a warning glance.

"Nay, Master, I cannot read and a slave has no name," replied Legolas.

"My name is Aethelred, Master, and I can read a little," replied Aethelred.

"Very well, we shall come up with a name for you and teach both of you how to read and write," said Elrond.

"If you wish, Master," was the reply.

"Very well, you-" began Elrond, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Enter," he called.

Another elf stepped in. He had brown hair and blue eyes and stood within inches of Elrond in height. "You called for me, my lord?" he asked.

"Ah, Gellyth. This elves were slaves. They neither speak nor understand elvish. He has no name and the other is Aethelred. They will be taking lessons from one of the elves here. I need you to show them to the bathing area, get them new clothes, feed them, and then bring them to the Halls of Healing," said Elrond.

Gellyth nodded, "Yes, my lord," he said. Switching to common, he said, "I am Gellyth. You are to come with me."

Giving a last bow to Elrond and Glorfindel, they followed Gellyth out of the room and after a few moments, Aethelred's trembling began to subside. Eventually, he asked, "Are you a slave here, too?"

Gellyth looked almost offended. "There is no slavery in Imladris. I do work as a servant, though."

"Then is that what are we to do?" he asked.

"I do not know. Lord Elrond seems to have a plan for you," said Gellyth.

What could his master want from them? He wondered. His master already had servants to cook and clean. Probably plenty to bed as well. That was what the men had wanted them for.

Gellyth led them to the bathing area, told them to bathe while he got some clothes, and left. He and Aethelred just stared at each other. Finally, Aethelred said, "We might as well do as they say," and, stripping quickly, he began to bathe.

He quickly followed suit. "What are they going to do with us, Aethelred? They say they do not have slavery. Do they call them servants, instead?"

Aethelred sighed. "I don't know, Legolas. The best we can do is wait and watch. Don't challenge them. Elves can be worse than men but also more merciful should we please them, I do not think they will beat us too badly."

They bathed in silence for a while before Aethelred once again broke the silence, "Legolas, don't trust them. Promise me that whatever you do, do not trust them."

Legolas nodded, "I promise."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Gellyth's voice asked to come in. Legolas and Aethelred stiffened. How long had he been there. When Gellyth knocked again, Aethelred, startled from his daze, let him in.

"Here are some cloths. We don't have any small enough for you, but these should be close." Handing a pile of clothing to each of them, he turned and left.

They looked at the clothes in amazement. They were so soft and there was not a single tear or stain on them anywhere.

"Why are they giving us these? There is nothing wrong with them!" said Legolas.

"I don't know. Maybe they made a mistake? Gellyth was rather nicely dressed for a slave as well. Maybe it is some strange custom of the elves, to dress their slaves nicely. It would certainly irritate wounds more, to have cloth rubbing against it."

Donning the clothes, they stepped out to find Gellyth waiting for them. He looked them up and down.

"Yes, much better. You are to come with me to eat."

"Eat?" echoed Legolas in surprise.

"Shouldn't we be working?" asked Aethelred at the same time.

"Nay, I doubt you will be working much here. It is your first day here, anyway. Lord Elrond ordered me to get you cleaned up and fed after all," laughed Gellyth.

Legolas and Aethelred looked at him in astonishment. Their new master must be kind, indeed, if his slaves found things to laugh at. Legolas glanced around at passing elves nervously. The few slaves that he had ever heard laugh had been beaten. Happy slaves, in his other master's' opinions, were unproductive slaves.

When the food was put down in front of them, they knew there was a mistake. Neither moved. Legolas glanced around, but Gellyth had disappeared. Not knowing what to do they just sat there. A few minutes later, the elf that had served them came back

"Excuse me," said Legolas. "Are you sure there hasn't been a mistake?"

The elf laughed, causing them to glance around. "Nay, what made you think that?"

"Slaves don't get that much in a week, let alone one meal," Aethelred gestured to the soup.

"What are you talking about? That bowl could barely fill an elfling," said the elf incredulously.

"If you're certain…" said Aethelred, doubtfully.

"Of course I'm certain, now I'm needed to cook," replied the elf as he hurried away.

The soup was rich with vegetables and venison and hot. It was rare to get any food lukewarm. Even as they ate, the thought in both of their minds was, how are we going to repay them? What could they possibly want from them?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.**

 **Rivendell:**

Gellyth led them to the kitchen, correctly assuming they'd be more comfortable there than in the dining hall. Making sure they got food, he left to go see Elrond.

Elrond was waiting for him when he got there.

"How are they?" he asked, not even bothering to greet him.

"They are alive, if scared, my lord. They asked if I was a slave. I told them no and that they wouldn't be doing any work. Legolas-"

"Who?" asked Elrond.

"The blonde one, my lord," Gellyth replied.

"He said that he didn't have a name, though. He must be a very good liar to trick both me and Glorfindel," mused Elrond. "Continue."

"Legolas was the shyer of the two. They both showed signs of being dragged and Legolas showed signs of being whipped in the past day or so. Both had many whip scars and also curious markings around the neck. I would also check the feet. They were limping."

"Very well. Anything else?" asked Elrond.

"Yes, they are fixated on working. I told them there was no slavery here and that I was a servant. That made them ask if they'd be servants as well. I think they believe that servants are just slaves with another name. They were wary of laughter, I don't know why, but whenever someone laughed, they acted like someone was going to attack them. They also thought they should be working instead of eating and they looked too thin. Dangerously so," said Gellyth.

"I trust that this will stay between us?" said Elrond eventually.

"Yes, of course, my lord," said Gellyth immediately.

"Very well, you may go. Don't forget to take them to the Halls of Healing. I will wait for them there," said Elrond.

Gellyth bowed and left.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Someone left the review, "I love the frequent updates... But could you make the chapters a little longer! The story is very suspenseful- I can't wait to see what happened in the past and what is to come! What is going on with Thranduil? Do they really not know elvish - if so, how? Did they grow up as slaves? Can't wait for your next update!" I thought I'd address all of you since the review brings up good points.**

 **The chapters are short for two reasons, firstly, I try to update everyday or every two days because if I don't, I forget about the story completely, and you'd have to wait a while for another update. The other reason is because a chapter end usually means a change in point of view, because I don't want multiple changes unless it is third person omniscient, which it rarely is as of now.**

 **Thranduil will appear, but they don't know that they're related yet, that will be resolved later, don't worry.**

 **Aethelred knows a little elvish because he was captured early in his life. He doesn't want the other elves to know because it gives him an advantage if they think he doesn't understand them but he really can. Legolas didn't even know he was elvish because he was born into slavery and his owners didn't want him to know and Aethelred did not tell him because that would only cause more pain in the end.**

 **Wonderful points, and probably out all the reviews, my favorite because it helped me fix a few minor issues in other parts of the story, so, once again, thank you!**

 **I forgot to mention this, but both were raped, hopefully that should have been obvious, but if not, they have.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.**

 **Rivendell:**

Having eaten their fill, Gellyth led them to what he called the Halls of Healing.

Had he not known that Aethelred was just as confused as he was, he would have asked him. When he'd thought to ask Gellyth, the elf had just stared at him in shock and sympathy for a few moments before continuing on.

When they arrived, their new master was waiting for them. He had his back turned and was grinding something in a mortar and pestle.

As one, they dropped to their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground. Without turning, Elrond told them to make themselves comfortable on the beds.

They did so quickly and nervously. What did he want.

"Gellyth tells me that you have some injuries that I should see," said Elrond. He set the herbs aside and turned to face them. Immediately, their eyes dropped to the floor submissively.

"Do not drop your eyes, for then how would you see? Besides, you are not slaves anymore. You're free to do as you will, like Gellyth or Glorfindel or myself. Who shall go first?" asked Elrond.

Legolas and Aethelred looked at each other, both pleading silently for the other to go first. Finally Aethelred sighed, "I'll go, Master, if it pleases you," he said.

"Very well, where are you injured?" asked Elrond.

"Just my neck, wrists, and feet, master," Aethelred lied.

Elrond nodded. Methodically, he spread salve and bandaged his feet before doing the same to his wrists. The neck took a little longer as he made sure there was no damage.

"What caused this?" he asked.

"A collar, master," Aethelred replied.

Elrond nodded.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Nay, nothing of importance, Master."

Elrond seemed to hesitate, but nodded again and strode over to Legolas.

"Where are you hurt, Legolas?" he asked. Seeing his surprised expression, he added, "Gellyth told me."

Legolas nodded. Aethelred was right, no one could be trusted.

"Only my neck, wrists, and feet, Master, same as Aethelred."

Elrond knew from Gellyth that this wa s a lie as well, but he didn't want to push them too far. He did not know much about slavery, but he had treated elves that had been tortured. Most of them hadn't survived, unfortunately, but he assumed that would be the most similar circumstance.

Legolas allowed Elrond to bandage his wounds, but his trembling was worse than Aethelred's. The moment he was finished, Legolas moved away, but he was too eager and the movement too quick, causing the cuts and welts on his back to stretch and break. He gasped in pain and Elrond noticed immediately. He'd probably have to treat those wounds, anyway. Striving to sound neutral, he said, "Where else are you hurt, Legolas?"

Behind him, Aethelred winced, giving him a sympathetic look, but knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do. At least now, they would know how he was prone to punish his slaves.

"My back, Master. It's not that bad though," said Legolas.

"Very well, I would like to see them anyway," said Elrond.

Legolas didn't reply, remembering the last time he'd undressed at another's command.

"I'm just trying to help, I promise," said Elrond.

Legolas still didn't move, but Aethelred's face clearly read, do as he says.

"Gellyth suggested I check you two for malnutrition, anyway. I can do both at once," Elrond added.

"Legolas, take off your shirt.

"If you don't want to, I won't force you, but I can help you if you do," said Elrond as he began to put the supplies away.

"Do as master says, remember what I told you?" replied Aethelred.

Legolas shook his head stubbornly.

"Legolas!" Aethelred hissed.

Again, Legolas shook his head.

Elrond hesitated, before saying, "I can get another healer if you prefer."

Legolas shook his head again. Aethelred closed his eyes.

Elrond had a sudden idea.

"What if Aethelred dresses your wounds as I instruct him?"

"Yes," said Aethelred before Legolas could reply. Legolas shot him a look that was a mixture of terror and betrayal. When Elrond turned to him, he quickly bowed. Legolas opened his mouth to protest, but Aethelred cut across him, "Do not be angry with him, Master, he is just tired from the journey and isn't thinking straight, he'll serve you well, Master, it is our pleasure."

Inwardly, Aethelred winced. The excuse was flimsy and he knew it, not that it generally mattered, anyway.

Elrond hesitated, but those wounds seemed bad so he nodded. It was more important that they get his wounds treated. Legolas was frozen, so Aethelred walked over to Legolas and began to help him take off his shirt.

Once the shirt was off and he could see beneath it, Elrond gasped, he was badly emaciated and even the muscle from manual labor did not hide it. There were scars running all over Legolas' chest and a brand just below his left collarbone. Some of his ribs were obviously fractured or broken. And one of his shoulders was swollen slightly around the joint. If this was his chest, how would his back look?

"I need you turn around so I can have a look at your back," said Elrond gently.

Slowly, Legolas turned around, making Elrond gasp again. Every inch of his body was covered in welts and cuts that crisscrossed neatly on his back. Even so, it did nothing to had the scars from when he'd been beaten before.

Legolas was shaking even more, now, and when Elrond began to speak, it got even worse. Aethelred began treating him, but the movements were rough and he obviously knew nothing about stitching a wound. After a few minutes of working, Legolas seemed to calm and stopped shaking quite as badly, though is was still obvious that he was trembling.

To Legolas, it seemed to take ages, but the realistic part of his mind knew that it had only been about ten minutes. He withdrew from his surroundings, as he had so often during beatings, tirades, and other things. He knew, in part of his mind that Elrond was still giving Aethelred instructions while he tended him, but he could also ignore the hands on his back. He could knew that he was only half dressed and had his back to his master, but he felt cold, almost detached from what was happening.

After a while, Elrond finished and began to put his things away.

"We're finished, Legolas. I'll have Gellyth show you where you can stay," he said.

Legolas hurried to put on his shirt and both kneeled in front of Elrond, kissing the hem of his robes in thanks.

"Nay, you do not have to do that, I am no more you're master than Glorfindel," Elrond told them.

Legolas and Aethelred didn't know what else to do, so they bowed again.

"Gellyth will show you where you will be sleeping, you are to stay in bed until someone returns unless you need something. They will give you further instructions," said Elrond.

"But Master, it is still light out, should we not be working?" protested Legolas.

Aethelred quickly silenced him, sure that this would be the last straw. After all, who wanted a slave that ignored and questioned every command. Elrond must know how Legolas got those scars by now.

Elrond merely smiled, _smiled_ at Legolas and said, "You need to heal, the fact that you are on your feet is a miracle. I know many elves who would be unconscious by now. Gellyth will be here very soon."

As if on cue, the door opened and Gellyth came in and bowed to Elrond.

"Ah, Gellyth, perfect, I'm through here if you would take them to their rooms…" said Elrond.

"Yes, My Lord," said Gellyth. To the other two elves, he said, "Come with me, please."

When they got to the room they would be sharing, they knew there had been a mistake.

"Gellyth, there must have been a mistake, this room is too grand for us," said Aethelred and Legolas in the same breath.

The room was small, there were two beds, two chairs, a table, a closet, and a window.

Gellyth looked confused, "Nay, this was prepared for you."

"But slaves don't have their own beds, much less rooms!" protested Legolas.

"You aren't slaves, though," said Gellyth.

"Yes, we are, we belong to Master Elrond," argued Aethelred.

Deciding to change tack, Gellyth said, "All servants here have their own rooms, we just put you together because we thought you'd be more comfortable that way, we can change it if you like."

"No, no!" they'd said quickly.

"Then this should be fine," said Gellyth

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?" asked Aethelred, hesitantly.

"No, of course not," said Gellyth.

Aethelred and Legolas thanked him profusely, but Gellyth waved their thanks aside.

"If anyone, you should thank Lord Elrond, but you really do have only the most basic of rooms. I'll take my leave, now, but don't hesitate to ask anyone for help. Sleep well," said Gellyth. He left quickly, leaving the other two elves to stare at each other, confused.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It appears my guest reviewer is in luck, the chapters appear to be rather long lately but it takes a while to do. With a steadily busying schedule, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to update this quickly. I can try, though.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.**

 **Rivendell:**

For several long moments, neither moved, just staring at each other.

"What is this about, Aethelred?" asked Legolas, nervously. "Why do they treat us so kindly?"

"I do not know, Legolas. Perhaps, they just want to lull us into a sense of security. Or maybe they wish to use us in secret so that their partners do not find out. Remember, keep your guard up, whatever happens, whatever they do or say, don't let them fool you," said Aethelred, sternly.

"What should we do?" asked Legolas.

"Keep your head down. I thought Master would beat you half to death for your insolence. Remember that slaves, to their masters, are expendable. No matter how much they act like they care, we don't matter to them. We are replaceable. If we don't please them, we die," said Aethelred. "Now, I suggest we do as they say and get to sleep. If they are letting us sleep at this time of day, they'll want us up long before the dawn."

They lay down and, but neither could get to sleep. The times Legolas had slept in a bed was fraught with pain and humiliation. Aethelred could not sleep for that reason and due to worry about what would happen and the unanswered question of what their new master wanted of them.

"Legolas, sleep on the floor if it's more comfortable, I'll wake you when they come," said Aethelred finally.

Legolas complied gratefully and fell asleep quickly. And despite his best attempts, so did Aethelred.

The next morning, they both woke well before dawn, when they would normally wake. They sat for a few hours, tense and expecting the dreaded knock to come any minute. Dawn came and there was still no knock on the door.

"Do you think they forgot about us?" asked Legolas after hours of waiting.

"Maybe," said Aethelred. "Probably they are testing us, seeing if we know our place, in which case, we should be out there already, not waiting for them to bother coming to get us."

Legolas scrambled to his feet, looking ready to rush out of the door, but Aethelred added, "Or maybe they want to see if we will follow directions by staying here."

Legolas sighed, sinking down on the bed.

"Not even a day and they are already looking for an excuse to beat us. I had hoped that things might be getting a little better."

Aethelred said, "We might as well follow the directions. I'll tell you what little I know about elves, for now in case we are separated. Elves are immortal, that's why we've seen so many masters," he said, smiling at Legolas' expression of shock. "I'm surprised you never asked me why we never seemed to age all that much.

The only way they can die is through mortal injuries or grief. We do not get sick and and our bodies can endure more than that of a human.

I met your mother as she was dying, you were in her arms. She said her name was Eledwen and your father's was Thranduil. You cannot tell that to anyone. If you love the man that was your father, you will not mention this again until we are safe. If they know your mother's name, they could easily figure out your father's, he might be endangered. He has enemies everywhere."

Legolas nodded solemnly, "I won't," he promised.

Aethelred nodded, "Good."

There was silence for a while before Legolas asked, "What about you, Aethelred? How do you know so much about elves?"

"I do not remember anything," he admitted. "I was told that much by the other slaves that had been captured and enslaved rather than born into it. I don't even know what my name truly was, I was given that name by another. I do not even know if it is elvish."

They sat there for hours before someone knocked on the door, just as the sun reached its zenith.

Scrambling onto the beds, Legolas called, "Enter."

Gellyth entered looking around.

"Good morning!' he said, cheerfully.

Legolas and Aethelred glanced at each other. Good morning? What would a slave find good about a day?

"Good morning," said Aethelred, suddenly aware of the disrespect they were showing him. Legolas quickly echoed the sentiment.

"Lord Elrond told me to take you to the overseer," said Gellyth.

They stiffened. It was a test! I knew we should have gotten up anyway! Was the thought in both of their minds.

Seeing their reactions, slight as it was, Gellyth hastened to add, "You aren't in trouble, don't worry."

Both nodded dutifully, but neither one believed him.

Leading them out of the door, he took them in a winding, scenic route through Rivendell and, after a twenty minute walk that had Legolas and Aethelred even more on edge, they stopped in front of an office. Gellyth knocked on the door and a deep steady voice answered, "Enter."

The first thing that Legolas noticed about the overseer when he walked in was that the elf had long red haired. He bent over a stack of papers. The man looked up and Legolas saw that he had strong features and hazel eyes.

As soon as he looked up, both Legolas and Aethelred knelt. He stood and walked over to them.

"Stand up, do not kneel," he said quietly. "I am in no way better than you, I just make reports to Lord Elrond about the household and keep things running, it's just a title, really. One that's rarely used. Most people call me by my name, Eilyaer."

Aethelred shook his head imperceptibly. This man was so much better than them, there was no way he could get around that. Overseers were a free men, they were just unfortunate enough to have to spend their time with slaves. In his experience, overseers were generally crueller than the others, either because they were unhappy with their station in life or they enjoyed causing pain.

Now they had a dilemma, though. Either they could do as their overseer wanted and risk being punished for disrespect, or they could ignore his command and be punished for not following orders.

Legolas was thinking along the same lines for he said, "Would that not be disrespectful, Sir?"

Eilyaer blinked, and said, "Nay, why would it be?"

"Because you're our superior," said Aethelred, wincing immediately after as he remembered what the steward had just said.

Eilyaer opened his mouth to say something, but Gellyth gave him a look over the two elves' head that read plainly, leave it alone.

Eilyaer closed his mouth, then said, "Lord Elrond told me to give you jobs, but you won't be doing anything until you heal, I just needed to know what you were capable of."

"Anything you want us for, Sir," said Aethelred.

"More specific, please," said Eilyaer, patiently.

"We can cook, clean, chop wood, farm work, stable work, sing, anything you want us to do," said Aethelred.

Eilyaer nodded, "Elrond also wanted to see you."

They nodded slowly, "Yes, Sir," they said.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Legolas' age is not told, as far as I know, so I just guessed. Arwen was the last elf born to Middle Earth, I think, and I imagine that he is no older than the twins, so he was born between 130 and 241 of the Third Age, so this takes place about 1000 of the Third Age. To give you a perspective, the Fellowship of the Ring took place in 3019 of the Third Age, almost 2,000 years later.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.**

 **Rivendell:**

The two nervous elves followed Gellyth to Elrond's office.

What could Elrond want from them? Were they about to be punished for sleeping in?

All too soon, they arrived at the office and were told to enter. They obeyed, trembling, and knelt immediately.

Looking up from his work when nobody said anything, he saw the two elves shaking and kneeling in front of his desk. Walking over to them, he helped them up.

"You don't have to kneel, I'm not your master. I called you up to talk to you," he said.

Aethelred and Legolas nodded, bowing their heads.

"Yes, m-master," they said in unison.

In their experience, the few times masters wanted to 'talk' to them, they had come back, bloody and bruised. The 'talk' had been their master shouting at them for some crime and, eventually, whipping them until he got tired of doing it. At least this time, he'd called them both up, that would make it easier for the both of them.

"I'm not you master," said Elrond.

"Yes, my lord," they corrected themselves hurriedly.

Elrond sighed, "Have a seat, you shouldn't be on them too much until they heal."

"No, thank you, my lord, that would be d-disrespectful," said Legolas.

Aethelred bit back a sigh, he would really have to work on curbing Legolas' tongue. At this rate, he was going to get himself killed before he reached two thousand.

Elrond looked startled, "No it isn't, why should it be?"

"He means no disrespect, ma-my lord," said Aethelred, dragging Legolas into a chair in front of Elrond's desk as he said so.

Elrond looked between them, for a few moments before saying, "As I said, I need to ask you some questions, you don't have to answer most of them, but try to if you can."

Aethelred and Legolas nodded.

"Very well, first of all, do you know who your parents are?"

They froze slightly, then shook their heads. Elrond knew they were hiding something.

"I need to know, your parents might still be looking for you," he said.

When neither spoke, he moved on.

"Where do you come from?"

"We don't know, my lord. Legolas' mother died in childbirth and I never learned her name. I was captured when I was very young, I think. I don't remember much of anything. A vague memory of song and laughter, nothing else," said Aethelred.

Elrond nodded, "How old are you?"

Aethelred hesitated, then said, "Legolas is about nine hundred and I am around a thousand, I think."

Elrond nodded, "Where would you want to go once you are healed?"

They both tensed slightly. What was it with people in power and their love for trick questions? Either they could tell the truth, Mirkwood, and be punished, or they could lie and say they wanted to serve their master and stay in Rivendell, but have the chance of being caught and punished for lying.

"We would be honored to serve you, my lord," said Aethelred, submissively.

"You're not a slave anymore, you're free to speak your mind without fear of being punished," said Elrond.

When neither did anything but nod and say, "Yes, my lord." he continued, "Can you read or write?"

Both shook their heads, "Nay, my lord, it would be improper."

"Improper! How would that be improper?" asked Elrond.

Both winced, this couldn't turn out well.

"W-we're just s-slaves, my lord, we have no need, nay, no right to r-read and write, that's a p-privilege for our betters," stammered Legolas.

Elrond shook his head, "There's nothing wrong with you, even if you can't see it today, perhaps you'll see it someday."

Unsure of what to say, the elves nodded, "Yes, my lord."

The rule all slaves learned quickly was, _when in doubt, agree_. It had saved many slaves lives in the past, theirs included, probably.

Elrond sighed again, "I'll assign someone to teach you while your still healing."

"My lord," protested Aethelred, "How will we ever repay you?"

Elrond looked even more surprised, "Do not worry, Aethelred, it won't cost you anything."

They looked at him disbelievingly, nothing was for free, he must have some ulterior motive, but they nodded dutifully, "Thank you, my lord."

"I know you haven't met anyone but do you want anyone in particular? Maybe Gellyth? You already know him. Or Lindir could teach you, music and poetry are his forte."

Both elves shook their heads, "Whatever you decide, my lord."

Elrond nodded, "You may go, I'll send someone to you later today. Gellyth is just outside, he'll take you to your rooms."

The elves nodded, bowed, and left, relieved to get away from their master and amazed that he hadn't hurt them in any way. Neither could recall that happening with any of their previous masters.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: It's early, but what can I say?**

 **Gosh your mean... 1000 years of slavery. No wonder they're so messed up. That being said I figured you a killed legolas mom by humans. But I really was thinking more AU and younger elves. So many questions.. So u better keep writing cause I want answers. :P**

 **~ river the parrot**

 **Yes, I realize this seems like a long time, but honestly, I imagine elves' coming of age around 600 (21 for humans nowadays), so, if you do the math, means that by human standards, that would be about 35 years, still a lot, but maybe a little better.**

 **Thanks for you review river the parrot, it was very helpful, I just changed something in my plot.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.**

 **Rivendell:**

"You wanted to see me, my lord?" asked Gellyth.

"Yes, I wanted to know anything else you noticed about the elves'," said Elrond.

"They are still afraid, which is understandable, the way they must have been treated. They were sure that the food and bed was a mistake, that it had been prepared for someone else, but they were taken there instead of that someone else on accident.

I noticed that neither bed had been slept in, even though they tried to make it so and that both were wide awake, had been for some time.

They were sure that the reason Eilyaer called for them was to punish them for something and answered all his questions as vaguely as possible. They showed him more respect than anyone else has ever shown him, I think. They bowed to him and called him sir. He told them to call him by his name and they asked if it would be disrespectful.

They are very submissive to the ones they believe are their superiors, but treated me pretty neutrally, I think they'd treat anyone they deemed equals as friends, even if they don't know them," finished Gellyth.

Elrond nodded, thinking. Slowly, he said, "They are illiterate. Never before have I met an illiterate elf already in their majority. I was thinking of assigning either you or Lindir to the task. Do you have any objections to teaching them?"

"No, my lord," said Gellyth.

"Very well, I want you to teach them as long as they are bed bound. Once they are able to move around, I might give them another teacher so they can meet new people or I might have you keep teaching them," said Elrond.

"Yes, my lord," said Gellyth as he turned to leave.

"Gellyth, wait," called Elrond. Gellyth turned to him expectantly, "They told me Legolas was about nine hundred and Aethelred a thousand. Tell me, what happened about that time period?"

"The Last Alliance, subsequent defeat of Sauron, leaving of the Kings of Gondor…"

"Yes, yes, but to Mirkwood, what happened?"

Gellyth thought for a moment before his eyes widened. "The King of Mirkwood, Oropher, died in the Last Alliance and his son, Thranduil vanished, taking his wife, Eledwen, with him."

"Indeed. Do you remember anything else?" asked Elrond.

Gellyth thought for a little longer than before and then said, "She was pregnant! Her child would be almost a thousand now!"

"Exactly," said Elrond. "Tell me, does Legolas remind you of Thranduil at all?"

Gellyth frowned, "I only saw him once, almost a millennia ago and Legolas is in poor health, but maybe if Legolas was tall and more powerfully built. Maybe if he his jaw was rounded and his hair thinner. His eyes lighter… He does bear a remarkable likeness to Thranduil, but we must be mistaken, Legolas said he was only nine hundred!"

Elrond nodded, "But what if he was kept in a cave or castle or somewhere else they could not tell the passage of time? Or they were trying to mislead us? I believe that Aethelred or Legolas slipped on the passage of time and are mistaken. I believe we have found what became of Thranduil's wife and son, but what of Thranduil himself?"

Gellyth nodded, "Yes, that could be so. It sounds plausible, but surely they know they can trust us? Their own kind?"

"Legolas was born into slavery and Aethelred was captured while he was still young. They know nothing of us, but they do believe we own them. Would you tell your captors, people you know nothing about that you were the rightful heir to Mirkwood's throne?" said Elrond.

"No," admitted Gellyth. "I would not."

"Exactly," said Elrond. "You can go now, but this stays between us."

"Yes, my lord," said Gellyth. He bowed and left.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry it's so short, I didn't feel much like writing. Besides, this is more of a filler than anything.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.**

 **Rivendell:**

Legolas and Aethelred had been shown back to their rooms and told to stay there almost an hour ago. They were sitting

"I don't understand!" said Aethelred, suddenly, causing Legolas to jump in surprise. "I've gone through any possibility I could think of, and nothing makes sense! Why are they keeping us here? They don't need to, we could be out there working, we're healed enough to be. They can't want us for pleasure, there are prettier elves here for that. They don't want us to be servants or they'd have us working right now. They want to teach us to read and write, maybe they want us to copy their texts or write for them? They… I don't know!"

Legolas thought for a moment, "You're right, it doesn't make sense, but," here, his voice dropped to a whisper, "Since when do Masters do anything that makes sense? They have always been needlessly cruel."

Before Aethelred could answer, there was a knock on the door. They stiffened, had the other person heard them?

When they called to enter, Gellyth walked in, some books, quills, ink, and parchment in his hands.

"Lord Elrond wanted me to be the one to teach you two," he said by way of explanation.

They nodded.

"When will we be allowed up?" asked Aethelred.  
Not for a while I should think. You were in terrible shape when you got here. I shouldn't be surprised if you spent several days abed," said Gellyth.

Legolas and Aethelred glanced at each other. Several days? They thought they'd been in pretty good shape. No broken bones or dislocated joints, minimal cuts, and they had not been violated yesterday, nor the day before.

"Bad shape by our standards," said Gellyth, seeing their reactions.

"What does our master do for punishments?" asked Legolas.

" _Legolas!_ " Aethelred hissed. He needed to learn tact quickly. People would only put up with so much disrespect before they lost their temper after all.

"Punish?" ask Gellyth, curiously.

"Yes, does he like using whips or burns or knives, what does he tend to use?" asked Legolas, ignoring Aethelred's growing look of horror.

Gellyth laughed, "Surely you are joking! Lord Elrond would never harm a soul unless it be some spawn of Morgoth or his minions."

When no one replied, he stopped laughing, "You really meant that did you not? My apologies, I have never met someone who would ask something like that. Truly, Lord Elrond would not harm you. He is a healer, it would be pointless to injure you only to have to heal you again."

Legolas nodded, though he looked far from reassured.

"Let's get a start, shall we? There are several forms of elvish…"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or make any money from this.**

 **Rivendell:**

As the days passed, Legolas and Aethelred healed and began to work. Some days they would work in the stables and other days they would work in the kitchen. Wherever they worked, they worked hard and quietly. At first, the elves who spoke common would talk to them, but they realized that they would speak very little until after dinner.

The elves seem to accept them easily and were always ready to help. They expected the other servants to help, after all, none of the other slaves wanted to see the others beaten. It was likely enough to happen without reason to make them ever want to give the overseer more reasons to do so. The others, though they expected to just beat or shout at. The gentle, quiet words of the guards and even Lord Glorfindel were unexpected, though.

They saw Gellyth quite often, as he often ate with and taught them. They found him very strange and yet kind at first, but soon they became used to his laughter and smiles.

They slowly began to talk more as they learned more elvish. Gellyth had found them fast learners and eager to please. He had expected it to take them much longer, but they had learned what he had thought would take a month in a week.

While they were still very polite and shied away from those above them, to those who worked with them often, they were very friendly.

They were easily amazed at the slightest bit of help, often leaving Gellyth wondering just what had been done to them to make them this way. He continued weekly reports to Lord Elrond about them and talked with him about the former slaves. The more time the elves spent in Rivendell, the more sure he and Lord Elrond were that they had found the missing prince of Mirkwood. What they weren't sure about, however, was how to ask them.

Days passed to weeks and still they did not ask, though Gellyth sometimes heard snippets of conversations as he walked to their rooms. He heard them speak quietly about Lord Elrond, what they thought of the other elves, and sometimes even what had happened to them. Though it wasn't much, he and Lord Elrond guessed that they had been raped and beaten often and that they had not been the only slaves. Neither wanted to ask the elves about their past but both knew that eventually they would have to.

As time progressed even further, the elves gained some weight and began to be less jumpy around other elves that were servants. They began to make conversations with other servants, though they still did not speak to any superior without the other starting the conversation first.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry it took a week, I'm losing motivation and I'm busy. I try, though. By posting this story, I've made a commitment, and unless something happens, I will do it, no matter how long it takes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

"Their elvish is improving quickly, especially Aethelred's. Why, in a few years, a stranger would think he'd lived here his whole life! They talk and eat more, though they are still hesitant. We have yet to see them laugh or even really smile. They try to look as if they're smiling, but it's more an upturning of the mouth than a smile. In fact, it's barely even that," reported Gellyth.

"Excellent," said Elrond a bit absently. "I received news yesterday evening, it was about an elf, found dead near the border of Mirkwood."

"Why would you receive news of that, my lord?" Gellyth asked, confused.

"I wouldn't normally, but this elf could not be identified as a resident of Mirkwood. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and an unkempt appearance. His clothes were old and worn and he carried no weapon whose style could be traced to any elven kingdom. They want me to send someone to see if he was a Rivendell elf. Lothlorien will do the same," said Elrond.

"But still, why is this so important, my lord?" asked Gellyth.

Elrond looked amused, "Think, what elf do we know that has blonde hair and blue eyes here at Rivendell?"

"Not many, my lord. The only ones I can think of are still here in Rivendell. I passed Lord Glorfindel coming up here and I ate with Lego-" Gellyth stopped abruptly, eyes widening.

Elrond nodded, "Yes, you understand, don't you?"

" _Thranduil_ ," Gellyth breathed.

"Yes, they think they've found their missing king, but they aren't sure, it could be an elf that lives separate from the main elf population, but they say there is some resemblance," said


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

"He was not of Rivendell, Elrond," said Glorfindel.

"We already knew that, Glorfindel!" said Elrond, trying not to let his exasperation get the best of him. First Glorfindel had decided that someone had to go to see the dead body, out of formalities, even if there were only a handful of blondes in all of Rivendell. Then he had decided that he should be the one to go since he knew almost all of Rivendell. After taking much longer than he should have, Glorfindel finally came back to Rivendell and spent half an hour on a report that shouldn't have taken more than fifteen minutes! If Elrond didn't know better, he would have said that Glorfindel was trying to irritate him.

"Of course, but formalities must be observed," said Glorfindel.

Elrond's eyes narrowed, now he was sure Glorfindel was provoking him. Glorfindel never observed protocol if he could avoid it. He returned to his papers, "If that is all, Glorfindel…"

"By the way, Elrond, the man looked like an older Legolas. Could they be related in any way?"

Elrond's head snapped up, "Legolas?"

"Yes, the unknown elf, he looked like Legolas. Nearly a mirror image. From a distance, he could pass as him unless you know them well. Rather like Elrohir and Elladan," that said, Glorfindel turned and opened the door to leave.

Elrond thought for a moment a gestured to a chair, "Sit back down, Glorfindel."

He waited while Glorfindel complied before saying, "We, that is, Gellyth and I have been talking. It has been long enough ago that I barely remember the man, but does Thranduil look like Legolas at all to you?"

Glorfindel thought for a while, "Now that you mention it, he does, rather. I didn't notice before because Legolas was so jumpy, but you're right, he would be nearly a mirror image if Legolas was taller and prouder."

"Yes, we thought so as well. But if Legolas is indeed Thranduil's son, that means his mother, possibly his father as well, were captured by slavers," said Elrond.

"I would say it is probable that Thranduil was either killed or sold with his wife. After all, Thranduil was so in love with Eledwen. I do not believe he would have left her for the world," said Glorfindel.

"Yes, your right. However, Thranduil only had two living relatives, one of whom was his mother and she faded a few years after his disappearance. The other was a distant cousin, Baelor, who currently sits on the throne. He was the last to see Thranduil before he disappeared. If Legolas is Thranduil's son, not only is the throne of Mirkwood his by right, that dead elf must be Thranduil," said Elrond.

"Nay, that elf did not look Thranduil's age. He looked closer to two thousand. There were whispers in Mirkwood that he could have, perhaps, been the missing heir trying to return to Mirkwood. Others say that it could not possibly be, he is much too old. On the other hand, death changes one's countenance, it can make it younger than the person was," said Glorfindel.

"Hmmm… yes. As soon as Legolas recovers, mind and body, I shall speak to Galadriel, she might know better than us, having closer ties to Mirkwood," said Elrond.

"Is that wise? Legolas might be happier if he is unaware of being the crown prince and only true heir to the throne of Mirkwood. Besides, no one knows what happened that night. Only Thranduil, Eledwen, and Baelor know. Perhaps the cousin forced Thranduil to leave. If that's true, revealing Legolas' possible parentage could place him in danger," Glorfindel cautioned.

"He is bound to find out. Better he can still trust us because we told him then he finds out on his own and learns we knew but didn't tell him. Besides, it's not as though we are announcing it to all the elves of Middle Earth, we are just telling him, he does not need to tell anyone if he does not wish to," said Elrond.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

"...and he's opening up, every day, my lord," said Gellyth.

"Good, very good. He may want to talk. I hope they do, someday. It shows his mind is healing, not just the body. We must get Aethelred to as well. I fear that should anything happen to Aethelred, Legolas will follow. I do not have foresight as the Lady Galadriel does, but I know this: Legolas will change the fate of the elves, if not every living creature on earth. I know not whether for better or worse, but it will change everything," said Elrond.

"How long do you think it would take for him to heal, my lord?" asked Gellyth.

Elrond looked at him keenly, "Completely? Not until he sails or goes to Mandos. Mental wounds never leave us, not truly. They are always there, aching and straining, reopening. You know that too well, Gellyth. Of anyone, you would probably have the best guess."

Gellyth nodded, slowly, "I do. I had hoped they might be spared the misery, though. They do not know how other creatures should be treated. They were trained from birth how to act. That they were inferior and that their masters could do anything to them I had hoped that would lessen the pain of the treatment."

"It will, of course, help some, but they were trained and treated so for about a millennia. These wounds will not close over a span of a few years or decades," said Elrond.

Gellyth sighed, "Yes, of course. I know that, but I do not want that. I want them free and happy, but yes, I do know they won't heal anytime soon. It took me decades to heal and what I experienced was barely a drop in a bucket compared to theirs. For them, they could take a millennia or more for them to heal and even then, who knows if they will heal correctly?"

"Exactly, but unfortunately, I do not believe we have that long," said Elrond. Seeing Gellyth's confusion, he added, "As elves, we have an eternity, but this darkness, I fear will grow again. It has not been killed, it has just lost its footing. I do not think we have a millennia before it regains its balance."

"I-" a knock cut off what Gellyth was going to say.

"Come in," called Elrond.

Glorfindel opened the door, but did not enter when he saw Gellyth, "Forgive me, I did not know you were in the middle of a report. I'll come back later."

"No, Glorfindel, come in. We were speaking of Legolas," said Elrond.

Glorfindel came to stand beside Gellyth while Elrond spoke, "I came here to ask when we should expect the twins. It has been long since they left to visit Arwen and Lady Celebrían in Lorien."

Elrond looked mildly surprised, "I forgot they were coming back. They are going to have to meet Legolas and Aethelred."

"Is that wise, my lord?" asked Gellyth, cautiously.

"Why wouldn't it be?" asked Elrond.

"The lords are very… exuberant, shall I say. I have only introduced the elves to the more circumspect elves. The ones that work diligently and only make conversations every now and then. To introduce them to elves as social as the lords might scare them," Gellyth explained.

Elrond groaned in frustration, "Yes, I see your point. They will be here by noon at the lates. I would expect them here sooner, though. That gives us less than an hour to prepare. The twins will go to meet them as soon as they learn there are new elves in Rivendell, especially ones younger than themselves. They always hated being the youngest elves in Middle Earth save Arwen. I will speak to them of this before they meet."

"Yes, they always did hate being so young. Gellyth, why don't you go speak to them be-" another knock cut off Glorfindel's words.

"Come in," called Elrond.

At his words, two elves walked in. It was the twins, Elladan and Elrohir. They had grey eyes and black hair like their father, but the structure and features of their faces belonged to Celebrian. Elrohir had inherited their mother's temperament: gentle and kind with a love for other living things. Elladan had inherited their father's solemn and proud manner. He was slightly slower to laugh than his brother. Yet for all this, very few could tell one from the other.

"Father," they greeted. Both walked up to him and embraced him.

"Mother and Arwen send their love-" said Elladan.

"How she expects to do that, I don't know," interjected Elrohir.

"-and Grandmother says to tell you that he lives still, but she cannot see him and that you must be patient, that things will come clear eventually," continued Elladan as if Elrohir hadn't said anything. It was clear from their expressions that neither he nor Elrohir understood any of it.

Elrond mulled over the words briefly before saying, "It is good to see in one piece, my sons, but I am sure you want to clean off. After that, you can tell me how Celebrían and Arwen is while we make sure you're as we eat."

The twins took the tacit dismissal and, nodding to Gellyth and Glorfindel, turned and left.

"As I was saying, Gellyth, perhaps you could warn them about the twins before they have to meet them," said Glorfindel.

Gellyth nodded and left, Glorfindel following a few minutes later.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry about how long this chapter took. All I can say is I completely forgot about this story. I wouldn't expect another for a few days at the least.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

Legolas and Aethelred had taken to walking in one of the gardens during their free time while Aethelred had gone for a swim elsewhere.

At first, they had been reluctant to stray far from their quarters except for work, but as time passed, they had begun to explore Rivendell.

"Hello," came a voice, suddenly.

Legolas spun, surprised, to find… that couldn't be right. He must be hallucinating!

"I don't believe we have met before. I am Elrohir," said one.

"And I am Elladan," said the other.

"A pleasure to meet you," they said in unison.

Legolas looked from one to the other and back. As he watched, they started forwards. Both of them. Unable to tell which one was the real one and which one was in his imagination, he turned and ran, despite the fact that he knew it was rude. He sprinted out of the garden and, unable to hear if they were following him, continued to run until he reached his room. He opened the door, hurried inside, locked the door, and turned to find Aethelred sitting at the table watching him, his hair still wet from swimming. He stood as soon as Legolas ran inside.

"What's wrong Legolas?" he asked.

"A-an elf. H-he was talking to me a-and I could somehow s-see two of him. O-one s-said he was Elrohir and the other said something like E-Elladan," Legolas stuttered, trying to get his breath back.

"What did they do?" asked Aethelred.

Before Legolas answered, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" asked Aethelred.

"Gellyth," came the answer. The voice sounded both worried and confused.

"Come in," said Aethelred.

Gellyth came in and when he saw Legolas shaking and worry and anger on Aethelred's, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"That's what I wanted to know," said Aethelred.

"An elf was talking to me. Somehow I was seeing two of him. He said he was named Elrohir and at the same time, Elladan," said Legolas, shakily.

Gellyth closed his eyes, "Well, I was coming to warn you of them, but it seems you've already met them. They are twins, two elves that are born from the same mother in the same day. Sometimes, the twins will look different, you've met a few around Rivendell already, but sometimes - rarely - they'll be identical. Elladan and Elrohir are the identical twin sons of Lord Elrond."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

Elladan was feeling much better having bathed and eaten. Not that elves wearied physically, exactly, but the trip from Lothlórien always tired them in a way that was heard to describe. Even without the strange weariness, they were still both glad to be back in Rivendell. Lothlórien had been their homes for many years, now, and they were eager to visit the falls and gardens again.

They walked through the gardens, neither speaking, merely taking in the peacefulness of the trees. As they turned a bend, they came across an elf they had never seen before.

"Hello," called Elrohir.

The elf jumped slightly and spun, surprised.

"I don't believe we have met before. I am Elrohir," said Elrohir.

"And I am Elladan," said Elladan.

"A pleasure to meet you," they said together. It was their normal introduction.

The elf stood frozen, looking from one to the other slowly for a long moment and then simply turned and ran. Elladan looked at his brother, the words 'what did I do?' on his lips, but the question died on his lips upon seeing his brother's confused expression. They stood there until Elrohir finally said, "Well, shall we go see what that was all about?"

Nodding, Elladan and began to walk towards their father's office. On the way, they bumped into Glorfindel who was walking quickly, looking slightly worried.

"Glorfindel, what's wrong?" asked Elladan, concerned.

Glorfindel turned, "Nothing, I have been asked by Elrond to take a most curious trip. He won't tell me why, though."

"What is it?" asked Elrohir. It was rare that their father asked Glorfindel to go anywhere. If he did, it meant he was worried about a fight. He rarely had need of the warrior these days.

"Well, the message from the Lady Galadriel seemed to make him think of something and he wishes for me to investigate it. After that, I am to give a message to the King of Mirkwood. Normal enough, but he wants me to take twenty of his most trusted soldiers," replied Glorfindel.

The twins frowned. That was odd, indeed. A patrol rarely had fifteen soldiers and a trip beyond the borders rarely had more than fifteen unless it was a big event or there were important people in the group.

"Anyway, he wants me to leave at once. Lord Elrond wants to see you immediately in his office, though," Glorfindel continued.

The twins nodded, wished him a safe travel, and left, continuing on to their father's office, more confused than ever. When they got there, they found him at his desk, working.

"You wanted to see us, Father?" asked Elrohir.

"Yes, I have something to tell you. Why don't we go eat? We can speak and you can tell me about your stay in Lothlórien afterwards." he suggested.

The twins nodded and followed him out of the door. They went down and got something to eat in the dining hall before heading back to their rooms.

"So, as I said before, I had something I wanted to speak to you about. While you were away, Glorfindel found two elves. They have been staying in Rivendell for the time being. The elder is called Aethelred and the younger, Legolas. Gellyth has been helping them adjust since then," said Elrond.

The twins were stunned. Of all possible things, this was not what they would have expected. That explained who the elf was, but not why they ran away.

"We saw one of them earlier today, he ran from us. He was blonde haired and blue eyed," asked Elrohir.

"Ah, that would be Legolas. He has never known anything besides cruelty and pain, so he is naturally very skittish. We think he may be the son of Thranduil," said Elrond, carefully. "He was very reticent on who his parents were and he resembles him somewhat. Legolas never knew elves existed before we found him, but Aethelred did. Aethelred said he'd met his mother as she was dying, but hadn't learned either her name or what she intended Legolas' to be. No one else had an elfling around that time period that we know of."

"Can we meet them tomorrow?" asked Elladan.

"Yes, but be careful, they get nervous very easily. If they want to bow and call you 'sir', 'my lord', or 'master', let them, we are still working on that," said Elrond.

"We will, Father," they said together.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Unknown:**

He was running. From what, he did not know to where, he did not know. All he knew was to run. Run, run, run.

To Mirkwood, he could not go. He could not go to Lothlórien or Rivendell. Nor would he seek refuge in any settlements of man or the kingdoms of dwarves'. His distaste kept him from the dwarves, his anger from the elves.

At first, he had intended to go to the Grey Havens at first, but guilt had kept him here, knowing that he had no right to go to the Grey Havens. Any claim he had had to a place in the Undying Lands, he had forfeited long, long ago.

For years, he had stayed from away from elves, but now, something kept drawing him closer and closer to Rivendell, a place he had sworn not to go unless he had no other choice. Three years ago, he had once again strayed towards the Grey Havens, but then, as he stood, ready to throw himself into the splashing, wild water leagues below, a voice had called to him.

"Do not throw your life away, the life the Valar themselves breathed into you. Your journey is not yet over. When it is time, you shall have a place in the Undying Lands, however, it is not now. Our plans for you are only now beginning to bear fruit," the voice had said.

After that, something had come over him and he had begun heading towards Rivendell until he had once again strayed from his path, something pushing him closer, but the rest of him pulling away. For almost three years now, he had been lingering at the edge of Rivendell, far enough away so as to not attract Elrond or the border patrol's attention, but still closer than he liked. If he had it his way he'd be far away from here, but something kept him here against his will.

Now, he was moving away, as if the something that had kept him here was weakening. He was running, he had to get as far away from Rivendell as possible. He was not going there, even Mirkwood would be better, at least they would be straightforward. Elrond, on the other hand would try to heal him and pry into his business. Where was his wife and child? What had become of them? Where had he been all this time? Why had he left?

Where his child was, he had no idea. Dead, probably. When his wife had gone into labour he'd run to find someone to help, only to find her gone when he returned. Looking around, he'd found blood and, eventually, Eledwen's dead body, already cold. There were no wounds nor any sign she'd been poisoned, so she had probably died in childbirth, but the child had not been there. He'd looked around, but for all his tracking skills, he could not find a trail anywhere, so eventually, he'd returned and buried her there.

He hadn't returned for several centuries, but when he did, he found something amazing, trees had grown around it, as he'd know they would, but no trees or roots grew within several meters of the place where she was buried. There were red seregon growing around her grave. Seregon had been her favorite flowers. No other flowers grew near her grave, as if they knew something had happened there. He'd run, terrified of what was happening. He'd never gone back.

Now though, he once again headed westwards towards her grave.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

"Twins?" said Legolas.

"What did they do?" asked Aethelred at the same time.

"Nothing," Legolas reassured him.

"Twins. They will not hurt you unless you hurt them. They are wild, quicker to speak and act than their father, but they will mature. They are older than you by half a century, but they still act like elflings while in Rivendell. They will not treat you badly, but you must realize that they say things they do not mean, do not be offended should they say something insensitive. They are not the most inhibited elves, to say the least," Gellyth warned them.

They nodded, people high up rarely were. They had no one who could keep them in check, so they did and said what they pleased.

Guessing where their minds were going, Gellyth added, "If they do anything you don't like, Lord Elrond will have their hides for it. They maybe grown, but they aren't allowed to be disrespectful towards others."

They nodded again, but both knew better, how many masters had they served after all? It was only a matter of time.

Gellyth sighed slightly. He couldn't do anything more, it would take time, he reminded himself. All he could do was try to help. Ultimately, it would be time that healed them, not him or Lord Elrond.

"If you don't have anymore questions, I will take my leave," he said, standing.

They nodded and he left.

The next day, they both went to the gardens, Aethelred not wanting to go swimming. There they found the twin lords, Elladan and Elrohir. Before they could leave, one of them called them over. Fearfully, they went to them, bowing low. They had hoped they could put this off a few days at least.

"Legolas, Aethelred, you don't have to bow to us," said the one on the left.

"I am Elladan and this is Elrohir," said the one on the right.

Now, they were stuck. Their previous masters had never cared what their names were and Gellyth had always introduced them while they were here. What should they do? Would it matter either way?

"I am Aethelred, my lords," Aethelred said at last.

"I am Legolas, my lords," Legolas hurried to add.

"We know, Father mentioned you two to us," said Elrohir. Seeing them stiffen slightly, he added, "Peace, we mean you no harm, we merely wished to meet you. It is our duty as the sons of the Lord of Rivendell to have met the elves that live here."

"Yes, of course, my lords," they replied, relieved, but still tense.

"We are sorry for scaring you yesterday," said Elladan.

"I am fine, my lord," replied Legolas, surprised that a lord was apologizing to someone as unimportant as him.

"That is good. We'd best be off, good day," said Elladan. Elrohir just nodded and they left.

"Why didn't they…" Legolas whispered in astonishment as soon as the twins were out of earshot.

"I don't know, but keep your guard up, who knows what they are planning. Perhaps they just wanted to judge us first. Be careful," Aethelred replied.

"I will," said Legolas.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Wanwa is sindarin for 'lost', it is not a canonical, just one I made up. It is basically a mourning bride, which means 'I have lost all'. Seregon means 'blood-stone', though I just called it 'blood' for this. I accidentally deleted something from chapter seventeen. All it said was that there was seregon was growing on his wife's grave and that it was her favourite flower. Sorry this chapter short, I just can't seem to figure out how to end this story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Unknown:**

Months later, he reached her grave, it was almost as her remembered it, the _seregon_ was still there, bigger and healthier, but now, there were yellow _wanwa_ mixed with it. He had to admit it was fitting, lost blood. He had, lost blood here in the form of his wife and child.

For ten days, he stayed there, but on the eleventh day, he once again felt the draw northwards, towards Rivendell. Sighing, he once again found himself obeying the unknown force.

Upon reaching the Baranduin, he once again stopped, unwilling to continue on, unable to make himself leave. Suddenly, the draw changed, pushing him eastward instead, towards Greenwood the Great. The pressure was greater, more forceful than before and he didn't even bother to stop it.

Upon reaching the Greenwood, he began to fight the force until he realized he was not pulled towards the palace as he had expected, but towards the burial ground. Curious, he stopped fighting the force and headed to the burial grounds.

As he approached, he heard singing. Going still closer he saw what seemed to be all the inhabitants of the Greenwood walking slowly towards the burial grounds while singing blessings and mourning songs. On a bier, lay an elf in a green-grey shroud. The elf was laid upon an altar while more rituals and blessings were performed.

When at last they left, he walked to the altar and removed the shroud to look upon the face. Thranduil gasped, it was his father!

No, it couldn't be, his father was dead. Frantically, Thranduil pulled off the rest of the shroud. There, on the elf's left shoulder, was a scar Thranduil knew too well. It was a sindarin O, put there by his father himself. It had been darkened with some mixture that Oropher had never told him of and stood out starkly against the white skin.

This had to be a trick, his father died in Dagorlad, had never returned, someone had just been trying to impersonate him, this couldn't be Oropher.

The next, as per elven customs, the elf was buried. Moving to the grave, Thranduil could not help but gasp again as he saw the words on the tomb: Thranduil, Prince of Mirkwood, only son of Oropher and Alistima, First King and Queen of Mirkwood.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

"King Baelor was not pleased with the news. He'd buried the unknown elf under Thranduil's name, he said he'd keep elves looking out for him, though." said Glorfindel.

"I can't say I'm surprised… He seemed to love luxury and power, who has more of that than a king? Thranduil would take that away from him if he claimed the throne," sighed Elrond.

"Yes, well, for all we know, Baelor may have hounded Thranduil out of the kingdom to begin with," said Glorfindel.

Elrond looked at him sharply, "Don't say that, someone might hear you. It does none of us good if Mirkwood decides to take insult should that reach Baelor''s ears. If we had proof, that would be a different matter entirely."

"Yes, very well," said Glorfindel, amiably.

"Legolas is improving rapidly, as is Aethelred. I want to take them to Lothlórien to speak to Galadriel. We suspect Legolas' identity, but no one knows where Aethelred could be from. Galadriel might be able to tell him, but they'd have to go to Lothlórien to find out," said Elrond, changing the subject.

"Is that wise, Elrond? To take them away from perhaps the only place they've ever been without being beaten, whipped, starved, and Valar knows what else everyday a few scant years after arriving?" asked Glorfindel, alarmed.

"Exactly, on one hand, it might prove good for them, to show them that they aren't chained here, but on the other hand, it might push them away from us, making them think they are being a burden to us or that they don't belong here,' said Elrond.

"Have you asked Galadriel what she thinks?" asked Glorfindel.

"I have asked Galadriel. She advised us to come soon if we are going to come at all. She senses something approaching us. I have felt it, too, in the very edges of my mind, vague and lingering. She thinks that it will hit us soon, in the next few centuries. She can feel it, but cannot put words to it. It worries her, she has always been able to put words to what her subconscious suspects. Always until now," said Elrond.

"And Legolas and Aethelred, what do they want?" asked Glorfindel.

Elrond sighed again, "Asking them would be about as effective as asking my desk if it wants me to put my papers on it. They would say whatever they think I want to hear."

"Then ask Gellyth or one of the low servants to ask them," suggested Glorfindel.

"That's not a bad idea, I'll do that," said Elrond.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

"Legolas, find Lothlórien for me on the map," said Gellyth, wincing when Aethelred hit the wrong note for what felt like the hundredth time.

Legolas frowned, looking for the place. Meanwhile, Gellyth went to correct Aethelred"s fingering and posture.

"Found it," called Legolas, softly. When Gellyth came over, he pointed to it.

"Well, done, Legolas. Now tell me, what people live there and who leads them?"

"Elves live there, governed by Lord Celeborn and his wife, Lady Galadriel," said Legolas. "The Golden Woods… Lothlórien… Dream-flower... Is it truly as beautiful as it sounds?" asked Legolas, quietly.

"Yes, it is beautiful beyond what you can imagine. We could go there, you know. I've talked to Elrond about it. He is amenable to the idea," offered Gellyth, cautiously

"What do you think, Aethelred?" asked Legolas.

"If you decide to go, the Lady Galadriel wishes to speak with the both of you," Gellyth warned them.

"I must think about it. Give me until tomorrow, please, Gellyth," he replied.

Once Gellyth had left, Legolas turned to Aethelred, "You do not wish to go?"

Aethelred sighed, "No, I do want to go, but Legolas, why are they offering this to us? Why should they treat us so well? This Galadriel, I've heard of her from travellers and books. The books say she is one of the oldest elf in Middle Earth and carries Nenya, one of the Three Rings of Power. The travellers say she is a witch who can read your mind, make you do things against your will. Not to mention she rules one of the three elven lands. If these things are all true, she is probably one of the strongest, wisest, most powerful, and most dangerous person we will ever meet. Is it wise for us to go near her?" Aethelred asked.

It was Legolas' turn to sigh, "No, it isn't, but I want to see Middle Earth, not just hear about it. Besides, if we were to go, maybe we could find out more about what happened to my father. I want to meet him, Aethelred, or at least see his face, just once."

"I know, but wouldn't it be easier for someone to hurt us in the wild as opposed to here? We are asking for pain if we do this. For what? A trail that might just be a wild goose chase!" argued Aethelred.

"Aethelred, I know there are risks, but you said we are immortal, shall we sit here for all eternity, never taking risks and living our lives as slaves, or should we take what opportunities we get to see places neither of us dreamed of existing?" asked Legolas.

"Fine, I'll go, if only to make you happy. It's not as if I'm uninterested myself," sighed Aethelred.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry it's been a moth...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

A little over two months later, a score of travel-weary elves arrived in Lothlórien. Among them were Legolas, Aethelred, Glorfindel, Elladan, Elrohir, and Gellyth. They arrived on the edges of Lothlórien about midday, but didn't arrive in Caras Galadhon until late in the evening three days later. By this point, they were all ready to collapse in bed.

The next day, the group was greeted by the Lord and Lady and then left to their own devices. Unsure what to do, they had followed Glorfindel around until he'd told them to stop. They'd returned to their talans until Elladan and Elrohir had found them.

"Legolas, Aethelred, what are you doing?" asked Elladan from the talan next to theirs.

Legolas looked alarmed, but Aethelred calmly said, "Lord Glorfindel sent us back here."

"Why don't you come let us show you around?" asked Elrohir.

"Very well, my lords," replied Aethelred. Out of the corner of his mouth, he added, "Calm, Legolas, remember, anything they want."

They were led around and shown the fountains, the pools, introduced to a few elves, and watched the Galadhrim warriors train for a while before they headed back towards their talan. Before they got their, however, they were stopped by Galadriel, who led Legolas and Aethelred to the fountain.

Aethelred looked into the mirror first. Images flashed by, none of them more than a minute.

He is walking through a meadow, no more than five years old, just beginning to walk…. He is washing for his first master…. He is being beaten by his third… He is laughing quietly with his only friend, another slave… He is being led away to a bedroom, he doesn't know why… Another beating, by his second master this time… Another rape, courtesy of his fifth master… Lying on a bed, badly injured… Another beating, his ninth master… His friend dying… Meeting Legolas… Watching an overseer lead Legolas away for the first time… Treating Legolas' back… An unfamiliar face, crying...

The memories stopped abruptly. As he came to himself, Galadriel said, "The last face you saw, those are your parents. You will find them in Mirkwood, if they live."

"Did you see everything?" asked Aethelred.

"Yes, I saw everything you saw," replied Galadriel.

Aethelred and Legolas looked at each other, worried. What if it showed Legolas' parents?

"Come, Legolas, look into the mirror," Galadriel said. When he hesitated, she added, "We have long suspected who your parents are. Should you truly be Thranduil and Eledwen's child, we will help you take your place in Mirkwood if that is what you wish."

Slowly, Legolas walked over to the mirror and looked into it.

A blonde man sitting on the throne… His first beating… Promising Aethelred not to trust anyone… Meeting Glorfindel… Walking in an unknown garden… Sitting with Aethelred by the Bruinen… Learning elvish… Working in the kitchens at Rivendell… He was sitting next to another elf… A short hairy man on the horse in front of him… Shooting terrifying beasts, counting as he did so… Sitting in a circle of people, including Elrond… Running with two men, including that little hairy one… A man, pierced with arrows… Watching a man crowned… Two elves, the woman saying she was pregnant… That same women clutching Aethelred's arm weakly, telling him that she is Eledwen, the father was Thranduil… Sailing with that little hairy man… An elf camped at the edges of Rivendell...

The memories stopped. Galadriel said, "You are indeed the heir to Mirkwood's throne. Before you leave Lothlórien, you must decide whether to go to Mirkwood or relinquish your claim to the throne. Celeborn, Elrond, Glorfindel, and I will all aid you should you wish to go to Mirkwood. Otherwise, you may stay in Rivendell or Lothlórien, if you wish."

Legolas said, "I am Lord Elrond's, surely he will be the one to decide that?"

"Elrond has made it clear that it is your choice. You have time to decide. There is no need to go immediately, either. If you wanted to live in Rivendell for a while longer, Elrond would allow you to," said Galadriel. With that, she turned and left.

"What should I do, Aethelred?" asked Legolas.

"I cannot tell you that, Legolas, the Lady is right, it is up to you. Besides, I have no experience with this, I can't help you," replied Aethelred


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

"Legolas is Thranduil's son. He is torn between staying to serve you and going to see Mirkwood," Galadriel said to Elrond mentally.

"If it's what he needs, I have drawn up documents to set him and Aethelred free. I had hoped that he would accept that he was free without them," replied Elrond.

"With time, he will. They were tortured, elves do not recover from that fully, even ones taught that that is acceptable. When he accepts that he is free, then he may wish to go to Mirkwood."

"I do not think he should go to Mirkwood yet, not until we find Thranduil or at least why he left Mirkwood," said Elrond.

"No, he shouldn't go now, but eventually, he will. As for Thranduil, I believe he is at the edge of Rivendell or will be soon. That is why I can't sense him. Vilya protects him, but you haven't pushed out far enough to sense him while he was there," said Galadriel.

"I will send out elves immediately to watch for him," said Elrond.

"Be careful. I do not think he wants to be found," said Galadriel.

"I will find him,"" said Elrond.

"Take care of them both. Their actions will effect all of Middle Earth."

Galadriel sighed after the conversation ended.

Thranduil and Legolas would play a huge role in the future. That much, was clear. There was a darkness that was growing steadily stronger and stronger. That council… Legolas was there. It was in Rivendell, one of Elrond's, then. What could possibly be important enough for elves, dwarves, men, and even hobbits to come together? Was this the event that made Legolas so important? Or was there another event? Why was he so important? Why was Thranduil so important? She sighed again, answers would come, worrying needlessly wouldn't help. The elves would report soon, anyways, and she'd have to be there.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Kudos to anyone who cares enough to figure out what type of tree is mentioned and guess it's symbolism. Hint: think floriography.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

Pushing out as far as he could, Elrond could just sense someone at the edge of Rivendell. Standing from his seat, Elrond hurried to the door and, without bothering with pleasantries, ordered the nearest elf to find Glorfindel before returning to his seat. Five minutes later, Glorfindel came running in, not even stopping to knock.

"Elrond? What is it? Is Leg-" began Glorfindel.

"He's fine, but we believe Thranduil is camped on the west border of Rivendell currently. I want you to go find him and persuade him to come here," said Elrond.

Glorfindel looked shocked, "He's here?"

"Yes," said Elrond shortly. "Go now, we'll talk later."

Glorfindel nodded and turned to leave before asking, "What if he does not wish to come with me?"

Elrond sighed, "Take food with you, enough to last an elf journeying to Lothlórien. Tell him that his son has been found. That he is in Lothlórien and will return soon. He may stay here or go as he wishes."

Glorfindel nodded and left. He hurried to the kitchens and got the food and then the stable for his horse.

After he passed over the Bruinen, he dismounted and walked off the trial. A little ways in, he found signs that someone had been here and, eventually, a small pile of ashes.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. Following it, he found himself in a small glade he had not visited in years. When he first arrived, he'd come here often because of a huge tree. There were many trees in Rivendell, but none like this. It was a delicate shaped tree with pretty pink flowers in Tuilë.

As he approached the tree, the noise grew louder. Stopping under the tree, he looked up.

"My lord Thranduil?"


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: If any of you were interested, it was a cherry tree and a blossom of a fruiting tree represents hope or a promise. Finding Thranduil and Legolas is are symbols of hope for the elves. Also, I have two stories in mind to start drafting, I want to know which you are more interested in. The first is a sequel to those story about the war of the ring since Galadriel said that Legolas and Thranduil will effect all of Middle Earth. The other is an Alpha/Beta/Omega Harry Potter story that will eventually be a Harry Potter and Hobbit Crossover. Please tell me if you are interested in either or neither.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

The elf jumped.

"My Lord?" asked Glorfindel.

The elf looked down.

"Lord Thranduil, come down, please, I wish to talk with you," said Glorfindel.

Slowly, the elf stood and, still looking down at Glorfindel, quickly climbed out of the tree. As soon as his feet touched the ground, though, he took off running. Glorfindel cursed, sprinting off after Thranduil. He should have expected the elf to run.

He was unsure how long he'd run, but eventually, he realized that he was gaining on Thranduil, his knowledge of the area giving him an advantage. As if realizing this, Thranduil's path was becoming harder and harder to follow until Glorfindel was struggling to find it.

"Thranduil, please, I just want to talk to you!" shouted Glorfindel when he could no longer find any signs of Thranduil's tracks.

When there was no answer, Glorfindel tried again, "Thranduil, we've found your son. Surely you would not leave him without any parents or anything to his name except his clothes? Would you do that to him? Your only son?"

For a long while, there was no answer.

Sighing, Glorfindel turned to leave, but a sudden noise stopped. Turning around, he found the elf from before watching him. The elf's hair was matted and dirty, his clothes ripped, a certain craziness was in his grey-blue eyes, and he was almost skeletal. He looked far from the proud elf Glorfindel remembered.

"Thranduil," Glorfindel whispered.

The elf stared at him.

Glorfindel suddenly looked uncertain, "I'm Glorfindel of Rivendell. Do you remember me?"

The elf continued to stare at him.

"What about Elrond? Do you remember him?" asked Glorfindel.

The elf didn't reply.

"What about your cousin Baelor? Or... Are you mute?" asked Glorfindel.

Still, there was no reply.

"Thranduil, say something, anything!" pleaded Glorfindel, desperately.

"My… Son," said Thranduil, slowly, as though he was having trouble speaking.

Glorfindel frowned, "Are you having trouble speaking, My Lord? Elrond could-"

"Where… Is.. He?" asked Thranduil.

"Legolas is in Lothlórien currently. He'll be back in a few months. Elrond would allow you to stay here or you can go to see him in Lothlórien, I have food enough to get you there," replied Glorfindel.

"Lothlórien" said Thranduil, finally.

"As you wish, but please, rest here for a few days, you look terrible. Elrond wishes to see you anyway," said Glorfindel.

"Very well, I will see Elrond and stay the night, but then I wish to leave and if I go with you now, you must promise not to try to delay me any more," said Thranduil at last.

"You have my word on it," promised Glorfindel.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Like before** **, I have two** **, I have a few** **stories in mind to start or continue and I want to know which you are more interested in. The first is a sequel to those story about the war of the ring since Elrond said that Legolas and Thranduil will effect all of Middle Earth. Another is an Alpha/Beta/Omega Harry Potter story that will eventually be a Harry Potter and Hobbit Crossover. The last is to expand a bit on my story, "Cabin in the Trees". This would be done by writing various people's thoughts on the song. Please tell me if you are interested in any or none of them.**

 **Secondly, I'm going to be fixing a few things in earlier chapters. It won't really effect anything, I just realized I messed up some things, particularly the telepathy which can't happen according to the books. I don't listen to the movies, they messed up too much stuff. I was under the impression that the movies should work with the books, not against it. Cough, cough *Hobbit* cough, cough.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Rivendell:**

"Thranduil looks terrible," commented Glorfindel.

Elrond frowned at him, "He is malnourished, exhausted, and has just learned his mother has faded and while his son is alive, he has been enslaved for the past millennia or so. Of course he looks terrible."

"Yes, I know. Have you felt whatever is lingering on him?" asked Glorfindel.

Elrond looked at him sharply, "Lingering on him?"

"Yes, there is a sense of power on him. As if he has come in contact with the Valar," said Glorfindel, slowly.

"The Valar," asked Elrond, incredulously.

"Yes, a Valar or a Maia," said Glorfindel.

"Are you sure?" asked Elrond.

"As sure as I can be. I would say Ulmo if I had to wager a guess," replied Glorfindel.

"Well, that would explain why Galadriel could not find him until just recently. Why is Thranduil so important that even the Valar protect him?" asked Elrond, rhetorically.

"Thranduil plans to leave tomorrow, do you think he can make the trip by himself?" asked Glorfindel eventually.

Elrond sighed, "Yes, if he's made this far, he can make trip to Lothlórien and back. However, if you're asking me if I think this is wise, then no, it is foolish. In the end, though, it is irrelevant because we both promised Thranduil that we would not try to persuade him to stay."

"Yes, true," said Glorfindel.

"I do plan on offering him a few elves. I doubt he'll take him, however. His pride is still intact, if nothing else," said Elrond.

The next day, Thranduil set out for Lothlórien without any elves, just as Elrond expected.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

After Glorfindel and the twin princes had left, Legolas and Aethelred had taken to following Gellyth. Apart from all but ordering them away four or five times to attend to some unknown business, he seemed rather tolerant of them.

About three weeks after arriving, Gellyth told them he had a surprise for them. Following him down to the training area, they found two elves there waiting. One had light brown hair and grey eyes. He introduced himself as Heredhín while his brother, Galadhín, had the blonde hair typical of a Lothlórien elf.

"I have seen how much you two enjoyed watching the other elves fight, so Galadhín and Heredhín are here to teach you to fight," Gellyth told told them.

"Will Lord Elrond be displeased?" asked Legolas, though he couldn't quite hide his excitement.

Gellyth bit back a sigh at seeing the brothers' shock faces. He forgotten to tell them about their soon-to-be students's past. He'd gone through this so many times, that he'd stopped noticing it.

Eventually, he replied, "Even if Lord Elrond had a say in the matter, he would say yes."

Legolas opened his mouth to argue, but Gellyth said, "When Lord Elrond assigned me as your teacher, he placed you in my care. He can't override me on anything unless it effects us or someone else negatively. Therefore, if I say you are to learn to fight, he can't stop me. Now, if I were to teach you to fight in order to have you go kill someone, he could override my decision, but not if you are learning to fight for the sake of learning."

Seeing Legolas and Aethelred's hesitation, he said, "Think about it as being similar to leasing," said Gellyth, wincing when he saw the brothers' expressions. He knew that was a bad connection, but what else could he have said?

Legolas and Aethelred nodded in understanding, both of them had been leased for a few months at a time.

"Good, now that that has been resolved, we can move onto what weapons you will learn," said Gellyth.

Galadhín nodded and led the way to the armory. There, they found weapons and armor of all sorts, swords, spears, bows, knives, and daggers. All were different shapes and weights.

"Pick what you like and then come find us. We'll be outside talking," said Heredhín, looking pointedly at Gellyth.

After looking around, Legolas chose a sword while Aethelred decided upon a bow. Taking their weapons, they went outside to find two upset elves and a rather sheepish Gellyth.

"Ready?" asked Heredhín. At their nods, he continued, "Good, I'll take you, Aethelred, and Legolas go with Galadhín."

So began there first lessons in weaponry.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: The long awaited chapter is here! Whew, I can't write this stuff. Four rewrites and this is all I have to show...**

 **Once again I want to ask about stories.** **I have a few** **stories in mind to start or continue and I want to know which you are more interested in. The first is a sequel to those story about the war of the ring since Elrond said that Legolas and Thranduil will effect all of Middle Earth. Another is an Alpha/Beta/Omega Harry Potter story that will eventually be a Harry Potter and Hobbit Crossover. The last is to expand a bit on my story, "Cabin in the Trees". This would be done by writing various people's thoughts on the song. Please tell me if you are interested in any or none of them.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

The two elves progressed quickly. Aethelred, particularly seemed to enjoy it. When they were learning hand to hand, he took an offensive role when fighting, depending on speed. Legolas, on the other hand, was a defensive fighter, waiting to find an opening rather than trying to create one.

He'd be good with a bow, Gellyth noted idly. While they both chose weapons they liked, he couldn't help but feel that they'd be better off with the other's weapons.

One day, nearly two months later, a messenger hurried up to Gellyth with a three word message He is here. Gellyth was up in a flash, "Legolas! Aethelred! Come quickly! Heredhín, Galadhín, if you'll excuse us." Motioning a bewildered pair of elves to follow, he started running. Eventually, they found three elves waiting for them: Galadriel, Celeborn, and another blond elf.

Thranduil, Legolas realized, my father is here!

Thranduil seemed to have reached the same conclusion about Legolas.

"Father," he whispered.

"Legolas," the elf replied, "My son."

They just stared at each other. Legolas would never know how long he stood there, just staring at the elf before him.

"We will leave you alone. Gellyth, Aethelred, come with us," said Galadriel at last.

With that, two elves were left alone. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do or say.

"What happened? Aethelred said that you weren't there when the slavers took me," asked Legolas, eventually.

"I had gone to find a healer," answered Thranduil. Legolas noticed he seemed to be having trouble speaking.

"What have you done since then?" asked Legolas.

"Wandered. I... Was not in my right mind for most of it," said Thranduil, "Where have you been?"

"Did no one tell you?" asked Legolas in surprise. Thranduil shook his head. "Some slavers took me. I met Aethelred and he took care of me. About ten years ago, Lord Glorfindel found us and we have lived in Rivendell ever since."

"Enslaved? By whom?" demanded Thranduil, surprised.

"Aethelred and Gellyth think they were Dunlendings. Somewhere near Rohan, at least," said Legolas.

Thranduil looked shocked. Around 900 years of slavery. "How have you not faded?"

Legolas shrugged, "I grew up with it, I didn't find anything wrong with it."

Thranduil looked disbelieving.

"Alright, I did question it once or twice, but I didn't have anything to compare it to. I didn't know anything else," said Legolas. "Anyway, why did you leave Mirkwood?"

"My cousin told me of a plot to kill my wife, we were only supposed to be gone for a year. Long enough to uproot the traitors. You came early so I rode to get help. When I returned, you were gone," said Thranduil. He was silent for a moment before saying, "We should find the others."

Not to mention you voice is giving you trouble, thought Legolas. He could also tell his father wouldn't admit it. Prideful.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: PLEASE READ, THIS IS ACTUALLY IMPORTANT**

 **I'm going to make an offer (bribe, actually) since no one is replying to my question: If I get 15 people telling me in some form or another what you think before the end of August, I'll write you 3,000 words (just counting the actual story, not A/Ns or disclaimers or settings) in the next update which will be before the end of September. I will count someone who just says they aren't interested in any of them, but please, please give me some feedback. Here's the question:** **I have a few** **stories in mind to start or continue and I want to know which you are more interested in. The first is a sequel to those story about the war of the ring since Elrond said that Legolas and Thranduil will effect all of Middle Earth. Another is an Alpha/Beta/Omega Harry Potter story that will eventually be a Harry Potter and Hobbit Crossover. The last is to expand a bit on my story, "Cabin in the Trees". This would be done by writing various people's thoughts on the song. The last option is a Naruto** **Time-travel story. Please tell me if you are interested in any or none of them.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

"Have you given it anymore thought?" asked Aethelred.

Legolas looked at him questioningly.

"Where are you going to go? Lord Elrond says that when you heal you can go to Mirkwood if you wish. Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond say you may stay in their realms or you could even go live in the wild or with men," said Aethelred.

"I don't know, Aethelred. I want to go to Mirkwood at least once, but Father doesn't seem to want to go their and I will stay with him for the time being," replied Legolas slowly. "What will you do?"

"I will stay with you for as long as you wish. Someday, whether you sit in the palace of Mirkwood or the woods of the Shire, I will swear it to you," promised Aethelred.

"Do you not wish to see your parents?" asked Legolas, surprised. He thought Aethelred would want to go live with his parents.

Aethelred smiled a little sadly, "I do not know them, Legolas, and they do not know me. They will think me dead and to suddenly appear may do more harm than good. Unlike you, I remembered some good times and I nearly faded many times. Finding out what I lost… I do not know if I could hold on this time and I do not wish to leave Middle Earth, not with how much I've gained. What I remember is enough."

"Why didn't you fade?" asked Legolas.

"I had you to look after. I didn't want to leave you alone. Everyone else avoided you. If you had someone else, maybe I would have. I wouldn't have lasted much longer… My last bout was bad enough that even you noticed," replied Aethelred.

Legolas thought for a moment, no doubt trying to recall what Aethelred meant. His eyes widened. "When you were so sick! I thought it was strange that it took almost a year for you to recover!" he cried out. Then his eyes suddenly darkened angrily, "You should have told me you might die, what if you had faded? I would have been left alone anyways!"

"I would have had to explain fading. Men do not die of heart sickness so I would have had to tell you what you were and if I had and we'd been caught, the Master promised to punish us both in a way that made every other punishment seem like child's play. I didn't want that for either of us," Aethelred replied.

"It would have helped, I could have understood why you died! The Master would have punished me for letting you die, anyway! At the very least, it would have saved me some shock if I had woken up next to your dead body!" shouted Legolas, causing the elves around them to stare.

"You would just be more worried about me! Who knows how many more whippings we might have gotten if you were distracted!" Aethelred shot back.

"Yes, and it would be better than how I would be if you just died suddenly, if I could come to terms with it first, the response might be less!" said Legolas.

"No, it wouldn't, you're reaction would have been greater! You would have been in shock and that would hopefully have dulled the pain of your punishment and when you came out of it, you would have had things besides my death to worry about!" shouted Aethelred in frustration.

Legolas turned, trying to get his emotions under control, quite a few elves had gathered around them. He failed and turned back to Aethelred.

"Don't make my decisions for me, Aethelred," he snarled.

"I have made decisions for you for nearly a millennia! Legolas, I was and always will try to help you. If that means keeping something from you, that's what I will do. Telling the truth is always easier under punishment, you know that," Aethelred, it seemed had managed to get his emotions under control. That made Legolas, if anything more resentful and that resent manifested in anger, "Go, Aethelred. If you are going to make decisions for me, go and don't come back," he said at Aethelred quietly.

Aethelred looked at him in shock. He opened his mouth to say something, but Legolas cut him off with a roar of, "GO!"

Aethelred closed his mouth, stood there for a moment, opened his mouth again, and closed his mouth. Slowly, he turned and walked away, disappearing into woods.


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

Time, Aethelred tried to tell himself, Legolas just needed time to come to terms with the fact that Aethelred had almost died, he was just in shock. He sighed quietly, no matter what reasoning he used, he couldn't quite believe that Legolas would forgive him. He had known that Legolas would be hurt and had been prepared for Legolas to be angry, but he had not realized how angry he would be nor how much being ordered away would hurt. He had never seen Legolas so angry, granted that anger would have been punished as ungratefulness by their masters.

Where would he go, though? He had assumed that he would follow Legolas to Mirkwood, perhaps become a guard or servant there. Now, however, he needed somewhere else to go. If Legolas didn't want him nearby, he wouldn't, but unfortunately, he couldn't go to find his parents in Mirkwood, so where could he go? Lothlórien was another option, but he didn't want to live here, something felt wrong about this place, it was sad and quiet, nothing like the cheerfulness of Rivendell or his home. Men weren't an option either, he'd seen what men were like, cruel and greedy. He had no desire to be with dwarves, either. He could live in the wilderness by himself, but that would be lonely and unrewarding, he had found that he actually liked some of the elves he had worked with. That left Rivendell, but would he even be welcome back? Surely the elves would take Legolas' side, people-

"-thelred! Aethelred!"

Aethelred whirled around to find Gellyth staring at him in worry.

"Yes?" he said, questioningly.

"I was just trying to get your attention," said Gellyth mildly.

"Oh," said Aethelred, only just realizing he was pacing, three meters forward, turn, three meters forward, turn, three meters forward…

"Aethelred, calm down!" Gellyth barked.

Aethelred stopped abruptly, allowing Gellyth to lead him over to a nearby log. They sat there for a while before Aethelred finally said, "Are you upset?"

"Why do you think that?" asked Gellyth neutrally.

"B-because, because I fought with Legolas?" asked Aethelred tentatively.

"Yes…" Gellyth prompted.

"And I shouldn't have?" again, it was spoken more as a question than an answer.

"Why shouldn't you have?" asked Gellyth.

"Because we aren't supposed to fight, we're supposed to be quiet and wait for directions," said Aethelred, this was something he was sure of.

"All relationships are going to have arguments, you'll have one with me or Glorfindel or Heredhín eventually, I'd imagine," replied Gellyth.

"That would be disrespectful, though," said Aethelred, alarmed at the prospect.

"Why?" asked Gellyth.

"Because slav-servants are supposed to do whatever is asked of them, no questions asked," replied Aethelred, wasn't that obvious? What was Gellyth getting at?

"Why aren't you supposed to ask questions?" Gellyth pressed.

"Because Masters don't want unruly sl-servants, it shows them we don't know our place," replied Aethelred, tensely.

"Why? Why does that make you unruly?" asked Gellyth.

"Because, because we are supposed to do what our Masters say!" said Aethelred frustratedly.

"Why?"

Aethelred said nothing, unable to come up with a reason why. Gellyth smiled grimly, "If I spoke out against Glorfindel, would that be wrong?"

"Yes," said Aethelred.

"But if I said no, it wouldn't be, would you still say yes?" asked Gellyth.

Aethelred froze, seeing the trap immediately, if he said yes, he would be speaking out against his superior, but if he said no, he'd be going against everything he'd ever been taught.

"Well… no, maybe not…" said Aethelred eventually. Seeing Gellyth open his mouth, he blurted out, "This is different!"

"How?" asked Gellyth.

"I don't know! I don't know, it just is!" shouted Aethelred.

Gellyth just watched him.

"I said I was willing to swear a fealty oath to him, but I went behind his back! What does that say about my sense of station, it shows I don't know my place! Who wants an unruly servant?" cried Aethelred finally.

"It says that you did your best to do what was best for Legolas when given no favorable outcomes. It just shows that Legolas is your top priority, that's true loyalty. Don't tell me you didn't think every possible outcome, you knew if he ever found out that it could ruin your relationship, but you also knew that it was better to keep him ignorant in the long run. I think that Legolas will come to see that as well, he just needs time," said Gellyth.

"And if he doesn't?" asked Aethelred.

"Then you can rest knowing that you did your best and he will have lost a loyal friend," said Gellyth.

Aethelred just nodded, he already knew that, he had accepted that, but it still hurt.

"When I was young, older than you, but not yet in my majority, I was taken by Sauron. I was tortured for quite a while, some sort of test, I think. They were trying to see how far they could push elves before they faded and whether they could stop fading from happening. Then the Last Alliance happened, that was when I was rescued… It's not the same as what happened to you and Legolas, but to an extent, I can understand what happened to the both of you. I remember how long it took to stop flinching at shadows and learn to trust again… I experienced a different form of cruelty, but of anyone in Rivendell, I probably understand the best, that's why Lord Elrond wanted me to mentor you as I have," said Gellyth.

Aethelred looked at him in amazement, "You were captured? I didn't realize you were old enough to have been alive during the Last Alliance!"

"Yes, I was about 600 then. It is uncertain exactly how old I am, my parents must have died after I was captured, we never could find them," replied Gellyth.

Aethelred nodded, "Why are you telling me this now, though?"

"Because, if you look at it from Legolas' point of view, everything is changing, everything he thought he knew is being retaught, you were his only constant and now he finds out that he has gone from a slave to a prince in about a decade. That's a lot to take in, but now, he also finds that the one constant in his life has hidden something important from him, he is feeling hurt and betrayed that you didn't trust him," said Gellyth.  
Aethelred bristled, "Are you saying it's my fault that he's angry?"

"Partially, he knows that you want what's best for him, but he doesn't know who to turn to, you were his only confidant, but now, he doesn't know who he can trust, he doesn't know if you've told him other lies besides that one. He sent you away in a fit of rage and when he calms, he'll realize he wants to have you around. He was just hurt and lashed out, Thranduil always had quite a temper, it seems that Legolas may have inherited some of it after all… Just give him time, he'll come to you eventually," said Gellyth.

"I know that, I knew that, I just had hoped he would just accept it... Naive of me, really, but..." Aethelred trailed off.

"Everyone is blind sometimes when it comes to people they love," said Gellyth.


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

Legolas glared at Aethelred's retreating figure. How dare he do that! Didn't he realize that either of them dying would have killed both anyway? He thought Aethelred trusted him! How much else had Aethelred lied to him about? If Aethelred didn't trust him, why should he trust him? And if he didn't trust Aethelred, the one who had protected him for a millennia and taken countless punishments for him, why should he trust anyone else here? How could he be sure this wasn't some sort of trick, that Thranduil was truly his father? Why should he believe that these elves weren't just trying to brainwash him? That his masters hadn't had the right of it? Aethelred had said they were wrong, but he has lied before, who's to say he hasn't lied on other things?

"Legolas," said a soft voice.

Legolas spun around, an insult dying on his lips as he found himself face to face with Heredhín.

"I wish to be alone," he said, forcing his tone to be slightly more polite.

Heredhín seemed to consider his words for moment before he moved to lean against a nearby tree.

"What do you want, Heredhín?" asked Legolas.

"Want? What makes you think I want anything?" asked Heredhín, calmly.

Legolas had to concede the point, both Heredhín and Galadhín had taken to showing up wherever he and Aethelred went.

"I'm not good with singing and emotions and all that stuff other elves like to do, that's what my brother is for. I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about that argument, it's hardly my place to say anything about it, I just wanted to make sure you two weren't going to do anything rash," said Heredhín, bluntly.

"Well, I'm not, so you can go away," said Legolas.

"I could, but why should I?" asked Heredhín.

"Aethelred is your mentee, why not go to him?" suggested Legolas.

"Gellyth is with him, he doesn't need me around, too," replied Heredhín.

"But why are you here?" asked Legolas.

"Why shouldn't I be?" asked Heredhín.

Legolas frowned, but said nothing, sitting down next to Heredhín and letting a letting a tense silence fall between them.

"Legolas!" said another voice suddenly.

Legolas' head jerked up.

"What are you doing here, Galadhín?" he asked.

"I'll take my leave," said Heredhín before Galadhín could reply.

Legolas' eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything to stop Heredhín as he made a hasty retreat. When he was gone, Legolas turned to Galadhín again and asked, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk about Aethelred," said Galadhín.

Legolas tried not to sigh, "And if I don't?"

"Then you can listen to me talk about him," Galadhín replied.

"Leave me alone, Galadhín," Legolas demanded.

"Why?" asked Galadhín.

Legolas scowled again, but said nothing.

"He's hurt, you know," said Galadhín after a few moments.

Legolas scoffed, "A sl-servant knows better than to be hurt by someone's actions. If he's hurt, he should have told me the truth."

"So you sent him away because he didn't tell you the truth even though the truth could have killed you both? I would have done the same in his place," said Galadhín.

"There must have been some way to tell me," said Legolas.

"Even so, he was trying to protect you. In any case, if you had been a slave and learned you would live as a slave forever, would you have stayed or tried to kill yourself? I would have tried to kill myself in that situation. All Aethelred wants is for you to be happy. He knew that this was likely to happen," said Galadhín.

"If he knew this was going to happen, then he has no right to be hurt, because he did it anyway," argued Legolas.

Galadhín sighed, "He knew you would be angry, but he decided it was for the best that you didn't know. If that doesn't prove his love for you, I don't know if anything will."

"He shouldn't have lied to me!" repeated Legolas, stubbornly.

"So you sent him away because he lied to you to save you from a beating or something even worse. You sent an elf who for a whole millennia, was the only positive thing in your life? Because he didn't tell you something? You sent Aethelred, the man who all but raised you, from your side because he kept something a secret?

As a prince, you will meet people who just want your power, when you find someone who truly loves you as much as Aethelred does, you shouldn't let anything separate you," said Galadhín.

With that, he stood and began to walk off.

"Wait, Galadhín, please," said Legolas, quietly.

"What?" asked Galadhín, turning around.

"You're right, I shouldn't have sent Aethelred away," Legolas admitted. "I know that logically, but my heart says otherwise. Why does it hurt so much more? I would never have been hurt this much 10 years ago."

"You would have to ask Gellyth that, I don't really know. Despite what my brother says, I am not much better than he is with my emotions," said Galadhín slowly.

"Gellyth?" asked Legolas in surprise.

"He hasn't told you anything?" asked Galadhín.

"About what?" asked Legolas.  
"If he hasn't told you, he will eventually. You could ask him, he'd probably tell you," said Galadhín.

"Or you could tell me since you were the one who brought it up," suggested Legolas.

"It is hardly my story to tell," said Galadhín uncomfortably.

Legolas nodded, "As you wish."

"Aethelred is probably in your talan if you wish to apologize," said Galadhín as he turned to leave.


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Lothlórien:**

When Legolas got to his and Aethelred's talan, he found Aethelred there packing.

"Aethelred, what are you doing?" he cried, alarmed.

Aethelred jumped.

"Legolas? What do you want," he asked.

"I wanted to apologize for my words earlier, they were uncalled for," said Legolas.

"I forgive you, Legolas. I must admit, I was not entirely surprised you were hurt," said Aethelred.

"Does that mean you don't want me to pack up?" asked Aethelred eventually.

"What?" asked Legolas in surprise.

"I assumed you would want me to move to a different talan when you said to go," said Aethelred.

"Oh, no, no, you can stay if you want," said Legolas.

Aethelred nodded and began to unpack.

"Galadhín said that Gellyth understood why I am feeling emotions stronger, do you know what he meant by that?" asked Legolas after a few moments of silence.

Aethelred hesitated for a moment before saying, "Gellyth told me something earlier that may have something to do with it, but I would ask him."

"What was it?" asked Legolas, curiously.

"It is hardly my place to tell you that, but he is down by the river if you wish to ask him yourself, he has been wanting to tell us for a while, I think," said Aethelred.

"Thank you," said Legolas, turning and climbing back down to the ground.

When he got to the river, he found Gellyth there sitting on the dock.

"Legolas, have you and Aethelred made up yet?" he asked without turning around.

"Yes, I apologized just now," replied Legolas as he came to sit next to Gellyth.

"Good," murmured Gellyth quietly.

"I asked Galadhín why this hurt more than it would have 10 years ago. He said he didn't know but that you might be able to tell me," said Legolas.

"I would guess that it hurts more because right now, everything you've ever known is being retaught. You are confused and you trusted Aethelred to be your guide and he has been the only positive thing in your life, a role model, a father, even. He lied to you, so now you don't know who to trust or what else he might have lied to you about. You don't know how much we might have lied to you about.

You're also seeing a bigger picture, now, and beginning to see things that don't directly affect you. Your view of the world is bigger and that means your range of emotions is also bigger. Your fear is starting to give way and making more room for other feelings. You've always lived in fear and that has eclipsed other emotions and the fact that you are feeling these things for the first time is only intensifying everything," said Gellyth.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" asked Legolas.

"I don't, that's why I said I was guessing. If you mean, 'why did I make such a specific, maybe even accurate guess' then its because I've had a similar experience as yours," said Gellyth.

"You have?" asked Legolas.

"Yes, I was captured by orcs when I was young, probably only a little older than Aethelred when he was captured. They were running some sort of experiment and I was tortured. Then, the Last Alliance happened and I was rescued and healed in Rivendell. I assume this is why Lord Elrond wanted me to work with you - because I am one of the few elves still in Middle Earth who can understand something of what you went through. Most elves sail, after trauma like this after all," said Gellyth.

Legolas nodded and asked, "What was it like when you were healing?"

"It was hard, I had so many habits that needed breaking and I kept expecting a beating or punishment of some kind. Then I started moving into a rebellious phase, pushing and pushing to see when someone would snap, which was very quickly, I found. Then I went quiet, I barely spoke, didn't eat or smile, that was the closest I ever came to fading. After a friend came and knocked a little sense into me, I started existing, eating and smiling, but I never really felt that much. I still don't feel as much as I can remember feeling in my very earliest memories," said Gellyth slowly.

"Where would you say that I am?" asked Legolas.

"I can't really say, especially after today. Everyone experiences these things differently, some will jump straight to being numb, some will just freeze their emotions, tuck everything away, some go through every step, and not everyone's stages are as drastic as mine were. Before today, though, I might have said you were in a quiet phase or existing phase. Now, though, I'm wondering if you are entering a rebellious phase. I honestly thought you and Aethelred were going to skip that one," said Gellyth.

Legolas nodded again and silence fell between them as they watched the sun begin to set.

"What do you think I should do?" asked Legolas.

"What?" asked Gellyth.

"Father wants me to go to Mirkwood, do you think I should?" Legolas elaborated.

"No, not yet. If you want to go, yes, you should go eventually, but Lord Thranduil's return will cause an uproar, let things settle down before you go to Mirkwood, if you decide to go," said Gellyth honestly.

Legolas nodded, "Yes, but do you think I should go at all?"

"That is for you to decide, Legolas," replied Gellyth.

"But what do you think?" pressed Legolas.

"That you will go back eventually. Trouble is brewing in Mirkwood and King Baelor is at its root. Even without the sight, Lord Elrond and I know the Valar have something planned for you," said Gellyth.

"What?" asked Legolas.

"We don't know yet, but Lord Elrond himself said that he knows that you and possibly Aethelred will change the fate of the elves, if not the world," replied Gellyth.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Sorry this is so abrupt, but I felt this was dragging on and on, so just a few more chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Mirkwood:**

Twenty years and Lord Elrond had decided that all that he could do for Legolas and Aethelred had been done, only time could help the rest, he'd said. Thranduil had wasted no time convincing Legolas to ride to Mirwood with him, even though Mirkwood had been steadily cutting ties to the other elvish nations after they had been sent word that Thranduil and his son Legolas were alive.

Now, they were rapidly approaching the gates to the Palace of Mirkwood where the current King, their cousin Baelor lived. The Mirkwood elves led them up a long twisting stairway that opened to a throne where an elf, obviously related to Thranduil sat.

"Who are you?" the elf asked.

"I am Thranduil of Mirkwood and this is my son, Legolas," replied Thranduil.

Gasps of shock could be heard and murmurs, excited whispers started up.

"Silence!" Baelor said and at once, all murmurs ceased. He stood and walked towards Legolas and Thranduil, stopping just out of arm's reach of them. "My cousin and his family have been missing for a millennia. Twenty years ago, I received a missive from the esteemed Lord Elrond saying that said cousin and his son had been found. Naturally, I did not believe him, but then I received another from Lady Galadriel saying the same thing. I still did not believe them. Tell me, what can you show or tell me that can prove who you are?"

Thranduil slowly raised his right hand, showing the ring sitting upon it.

"Not enough, had my cousin been captured, the ring could have been taken from his corpse," said Baelor.

"How about this, then: shortly after the Last Alliance, you came to me and said that I was in danger and needed to leave the palace immediately, disguised as a family of elves moving to Rivendell. I could return when it was safe and you would rule in my stead," replied Thranduil.

Baelor looked shocked, "It is you! You are alive! How?"

"That is for another time, as, I believe, we have another thing to attend to," replied Thranduil pointedly.

"Ah, yes, of course. Follow me," replied Baelor quickly.

A short time later, Thranduil was reinstated as the king and a feast was being prepared to celebrate his return.

"Legolas?" called Thranduil.

Legolas hurried to Thranduil's room, which was adjacent to his. Thranduil was holding a highly decorated wooden box.

"Yes, Father?"

"Both of us will be crowned tonight at the feast, I thought you should see your crown before you start wearing it," said Thranduil, handing Legolas the box.

Inside was a simple silver circlet with a single blue gem at the center.

"You will have to choose a person to crown you. Althír will crown me, he was and will be my chief advisor, but you-"

"Aethelred can crown me," said Legolas.

"That was who I was going to suggest," said Thranduil approvingly. He glanced around before quietly saying, "Legolas, there are some people who will not be happy for our return, some even want us dead, such as Baelor, be careful who you trust, I am glad you have Aethelred. If you must to confide in someone, confide in him. I have watched him for years and I know no one who is as loyal to another elf as he is to you."

Stepping away, he continued, "Go find Aethelred, we need to show him what to do and remember what I said, don't embarrass me!"

"Yes, Father," replied Legolas.

A few hours later. Legolas was kneeling in a ceremonial hall having taken his vows. Aethelred placed the crown gently upon his head and cried, "Long live the Prince!"

"Hail!" the elves chorused.

After that, Legolas and Thranduil were swarmed with elves congratulating them, bowing to them, praising them, and other such things. The party continued for an eternity and when Legolas finally got to his room, he collapsed into it, exhausted.

The next morning he was guided through etiquette classes, weapons lessons, finance lectures, meetings, and other things. After dinner, Thranduil took him aside to meet and speak to the warriors and watch them train.

This continued for almost a year until one day, Thranduil took him to the outside ceremonial grounds instead, ignoring Legolas' confused glances and deftly sidestepping his questions.

When they arrived, Legolas was surprised to see all the warriors lined up waiting there, standing at attention as they had during his coronation. Not one of them acknowledged their entrance, even the ones that he knew best.

"You've gotten to know these men for months, it is time to choose your guard. Typically, it is made up of seven men, three chosen by the father, three by the mother, and a chief chosen by the prince himself. The six guards are not with you around the clock, only the chief is around, the others take shifts and merely stay in the general vicinity, where they can quickly come to the prince's aid. As all Queens do, Eledwen wrote down the names of her choices: Galin, Thador, and Betor. Unfortunately, only Thador is still alive, Thador, come join us."

A tall brown haired elf stepped forward standing several feet in front of them.

"Eledwen's secondary list names Atal and Eliar, please step forward."

Two elves, both with black hair stepped forward, standing next to Thador.

"My choices are Katid, Casil, and Finir," said Thranduil.

All three elves stepped forward and all six, as one, knelt before Legolas.

"Here I swear by the Valar to protect the Crown Prince with all that I have, to aid him in every endeavor, and obey his every command. From this day forth, I shall serve him, fulfilling his every desire to the best of my abilities and giving him anything and everything I possess for his use. I will serve him, protect him, and die for him on his command until the day I die or he releases me. I have chosen this of my own accord, having been in no way coerced or pressed into accepting this position and taking this vow. Hail Prince Legolas of Mirkwood!" Thador began. On and on, it went and as soon as on finished, the next began it again.

Then Legolas stepped forward, placing his hand on Thador's forehead, "I have heard your oath and I accept it freely. Here now mine. I swear that I shall be fair to you. I shall not harm you save to protect my own person or to protect you or to punish you should you break the laws of this kingdom or your oath to me or in any way besmirch my name or the kingdoms. I will not abuse the faith and gift you have so selflessly offered me, nor will I needlessly sacrifice your health or life. I shall take you under my wing from this day and forever more. Rise, Thador, Royal Guard of Mirkwood!"

After Legolas had personally accepted each vow, Thranduil stepped forward to give his blessing, "May the Valar smile upon you and curse the oath-breakers in your midst. Lo! Eärendil shines brightly, may it guide and protect you all your years."

"We have heard your words and will hold you to it, exacting revenge to oathbreakers as we see fit. We have witnessed your oaths and know that no elf was forced against their will to take either position or oath and have freely and honestly, may the Valar protect and guide you forever," the guards said in unison.

"Normally, the Queen would then give hers, but she is not here, so now, you must name your captain," said Thranduil.

Legolas thought for a while before asking, "What about Aethelred? He is a warrior, he finished his rites recently."

"I do not think it would be wise, Legolas. Aethelred doesn't have the experience required to lead a guard yet," said Thranduil carefully.

"He can learn, surely. I trust him with my life, Father. He has shown me loyalty and kindness for over a millennia," argued Legolas.

Thranduil sighed, "If you wish, Legolas, but maybe you could elect another one for now and later promote Aethelred?"

"No, I choose Aethelred, he has proved he'll do anything to keep me safe, that's what is looked for in a chief guard, is it not? He's always around, anyway, we might as well make it official," said Legolas.

"Very well, Aethelred, step forward," commanded Thranduil.

The six new guards moved back slightly and Aethelred stepped forward, his face surprisingly blank. He then proceeded to swear the oath the previous six men had given, which Legolas accepted. After he rose, he gave a deep bow and walked up to Legolas, stopping a foot short of him and drew his sword, offering the hilt to Legolas.

"I humbly accept the position of Chief Guard bestowed upon me by the Crown Prince Legolas. I promise to serve him and protect no matter the cost, whether that be my possessions, my life, or my health. I will not put anyone or anything before him and I understand the honor, responsibility, and trust that comes with this post. I understand that I can only be released by my Prince's word or that of the Valar themselves."

Legolas then laid his hand on top of Aethelred's and said, "I have heard you words and take them and will hold you to him. Rise, Aethelred, Chief of the Royal Guard."

"Hail!" the guards cried.


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not make any money from this story.**

 **Mirkwood:**

Months passed and Legolas had begun to adjust to having six other elves with him at all time, they would even spar with him at times when he was not busy, though that was becoming rarer and rarer between studies, meetings, paperwork, spending time with his father, and, to his father's displeasure, Baelor.

Despite his father's misgivings, Baelor seemed more than willing to step back from the throne and eager to get to know Legolas. Legolas, for his part had been equally as eager to get to know Baelor, so the two elves were often seen walking, eating, or even playing the odd chess game, something Baelor always won at.

Legolas found Baelor to be a very laid back, cheery elf who could outdrink any elf in Mirkwood. Aethelred, however, remained slightly suspicious of him, as did Thranduil, though unlike Thranduil, he hid his feelings toward Baelor.

For years this went on, but there were more and more spiders and everyday more and more soldiers had to be sent out to combat them. Everyday more and more elves were killed.

One day, Legolas began to ride out with the soldiers against his father's wishes and slowly he felt his father pull away from him and begin to cling instead to his jewels, and as his father grew cold and distant, Baelor grew closer, kinder - offering words of hope and reassurance. Legolas found himself spending all his spare time with Baelor, forgoing any practice he did not get from fighting, any time he spent reading, even time that would have better been spent attending to his studies. All his time was spent fighting, eating, with Baelor, and sleeping.

He continued like this, ignoring his guard's concerned glances or Aethelred's pointed questions. Everyday he went out to fight and came home and went to find Baelor.

Never once did he notice Baelor's calculating stares or self-satisfied smirks, but Aethelred and the guard did. They tried to tell Legolas, but Legolas wouldn't hear a word against Baelor, so they went to Thranduil, but the king couldn't be bothered to part from his jewels and work for anything, not even his son. And so, with growing trepidation, Aethelred and the guard were forced to sit back and wait.

Baelor, for his part was pleased, Thranduil was out of the way - he could dispose of him later - and Legolas was pliant, easily molded. If he couldn't have the throne openly, he could at least rule from the sidelines.


	35. Chapter 35

Mirkwood:

"Legolas, he isn't good for you, I-"

"I'm sick of hearing this, Athelred. My uncle is a good man. He is not after my throne, I assure you," Legolas snapped.

Athelred sighed, but wisely backed down. That night, he penned a letter to Lord Elrond.

To Lord Elrond of Rivendell:

Legolas has befallen some sort of enchantment set by Baelor. It seems to bewitch all of Mirkwood. Or, perhaps, I have befallen the enchantment and the others remain untouched. I do not know which. Thranduil, too, is ensnared by this unknown curse. He pays no more attention to Leolas than he does to a servant and Baelor has stepped in to fill his shoes! Please, find a way to bring us, Thranduil, Legolas, and I, to Rivendell for a short time so that we can find the cure for this enchantment.

Aethelred

Aethelred gave it to the first servant he could find and, once he was certain they understood to get it to Lord Elrond as soon as possible, returned to Legolas' side to wait.

A few halls away, Baelor growled in frustration Aethelred's letter clutched in his hands. Why wouldn't his enchantment work on that elf? That was it, then, he'd tried to indulge Legolas by allowing Aethelred to be his guard, but he was too dangerous to keep around. Aethelred would have to die.


	36. Chapter 36

Mirkwood:

Legolas sighed. Why couldn't Aethelred just accept Uncle Baelor? He'd done so much for them and now was allowing himself to simply fade into the background.

Except he isn't, is he? You spend more time talk with him than anyone else, don't you? A part of his mind countered.

Legolas sighed again. That was his other problem. That particular part had always steered him well. It had kept him from falling into many traps and had always appeared a pure, golden light in his head. Now, though, it appeared a sickly, black. Dead or dying. Another part of his mind, a hitherto unknown, dormant part was reading its head. It seemed both more beautiful and more delicate and yet stronger, crueler, and darker than the other. It was lovely And yet it was foreign. Come away, it said. It has served you well, but it is done now. Now it's my turn. Follow me. And it said to trust Uncle Baelor. Uncle Barlow loves. Uncle Barlow is good. Follow me.

And so, Legolas did.


End file.
